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COVID-19
COVID-19
The coronavirus COVID-19
is affecting 177 countries and territories around the world
and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama,
Japan).
Typical Symptoms
COVID-19
typically causes flu-like symptoms including fever and cough. In some patients
- particularly the elderly and others with other chronic health conditions -
these symptoms can develop into pneumonia, with chest tightness, chest pain,
and shortness of breath. It seems to start with a fever, followed
by a dry cough. After
a week, it can lead to shortness of breath, with about 20% of patients
requiring hospital treatment.
Notably, the COVID-19 infection rarely seems to cause a runny nose,
sneezing, or sore throat (these symptoms have been observed in only about 5% of
patients). Sore throat, sneezing, and stuffy nose are most often signs of
a cold.
80% of cases are mild
Based
on all 72,314 cases of COVID-19 confirmed, suspected, and asymptomatic cases in
China as of February 11, a paper by the Chinese CCDC released on February 17
and published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology has found that:
- 80.9% of infections are mild (with flu-like
symptoms) and can recover at home.
- 13.8% are severe, developing severe diseases
including pneumonia and shortness of breath.
- 4.7% as critical and can include: respiratory
failure, septic shock, and multi-organ failure.
- in about 2% of reported cases, the virus is fatal.
- The risk of death increases the older you are.
- Relatively few cases are seen among children.
Pre-existing conditions
Pre-existing illnesses that put patients at higher risk:
- cardiovascular disease
- diabetes
- chronic respiratory disease
- hypertension
That
said, some otherwise healthy people do seem to develop a severe form of
pneumonia after being infected by the virus. The reason for this is being
investigated as we try to learn more about this new virus.
How long do symptoms last?
Using available preliminary data, the Report
of the WHO-China Joint Mission published on Feb. 28 by WHO, [5] which is based
on 55,924 laboratory-confirmed cases, observed the following median time from
symptoms onset to clinical recovery:
- mild cases: approximately 2 weeks
- severe or critical disease: 3 - 6 weeks
- time from onset to the
development of severe disease (including hypoxia): 1 week
Among patients who have died, the time from
symptom onset to outcome ranges from 2 - 8 weeks.
Information on Coronavirus
Symptoms from Government Health Officials
Canada Public Health Agency
The Canadian PHAC section
dedicated to the 2019 novel coronavirus states that:
- You
may have little to no symptoms.
- You
may not know you have symptoms of COVID-19 because they are similar to a cold or flu.
- Symptoms
may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to the virus. This is the
longest known infectious period for this virus.
Symptoms have included:
- fever
- cough
- difficulty
breathing
- pneumonia
in both lungs
In severe cases, the infection can
lead to death.
UK Government and NHS
The UK National Health
Service (NHS)
section dedicated to Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) lists the following
as the main symptoms of coronavirus:
- a
cough
- a
high temperature
- shortness
of breath
United States Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
The CDC has published the
following infographic on its Symptoms
of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV):
World Health Organization
The WHO has issued an interim
guidance on the clinical management of suspected cases in
which it says that
- "nCoV
may present with mild, moderate, or severe illness;
the latter include severe pneumonia, ARDS, sepsis, and septic shock."
