It is challenging to know at early stages when you
are infected by the novel coronavirus that causes
the COVID-19 disease. There is a most common and rare symptom loss of smell
that could signal you must be tested. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of
Public Health epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, the virus could
ultimately infect between 40% and 70% of the population worldwide. Some people
might show no symptoms at all but
many of those cases would be mild, while the prospect of being infected with a
new virus can be devastating. The most symptoms, as per the Centre for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), are fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
These symptoms usually appear between two days and two weeks of exposure to the
virus. Doctors recently added "loss of smell" as a potential
symptom that may show up alone without any other symptoms, Live Science reported.
As per the Journal of
the American Medical Association, as many as 98% of COVID-19 patients
who were hospitalized had a fever, between 76% and 82% had a dry cough, and 11%
to 44% reported exhaustion and fatigue. As per the current WHO ( World
Health Organisation ) reports the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than
21,000 people worldwide, most of them in Europe. Most affected nations have
called for complete lockdown to stop spread of the deadly virus.
The WHO said on 25th March,
2020 that countries which have locked down their populations to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus need to use the time to find and attack the virus. With
7,503 deaths, Italy is the most affected country ahead of Spain with 3,434 and
China with 3,281, the country where the initial outbreak occurred. The United
States has also seen over 900 deaths and some 60,000 infections.
Coronavirus has now spread to over 190
countries across the world affecting billions of people. "Asking people to
stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time, and reducing
pressure on health systems. On their own these measures won't extinguish
epidemics," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus*. *As per the Reports from India Today.
Physicians work with state health
departments and the CDC to determine who should be tested for the new virus.
However, the CDC also recommends that people with COVID-19 or any respiratory
illness monitor their symptoms carefully. If you become ill with the said
symptoms and think you have been exposed to the virus, the CDC recommends
calling your doctor first rather than traveling to a clinic Worsening shortness
of breath is reason to seek medical care, particularly for older individuals or
people with underlying health conditions. The CDC information page has more
information on what to do if you are sick.
The disease appears to become more
severe with age, with the 30- to 79-year-old age range predominating the detected
cases in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, according to a study in JAMA.
Children seem to be at less risk of suffering noticeable symptoms of the
disease. However, a recent study of 2,000 children confirmed or suspected to
have COVID-19 found that 6% developed severe or critical illness. The study is
detailed in the March 16 issue of the journal Pediatrics.
In more serious cases of COVID-19,
patients experience pneumonia, which means their lungs begin to fill with
pockets of pus or fluid. This leads to intense shortness of breath and painful
coughing.
Ultimately, the decisions about who
should be tested are left to the discretion of state and local health
departments, according to the CDC. However Govts in various countries have
taken right decision to lock down. This is one of the best strategy to control
the further spread of the Corona Virus. But the problem is that few people in
general not observing it seriously and taking it casual.
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