Coronavirus Disease: 7 Key Symptoms to Watch Out For

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus. The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) . Human coronaviruses, first characterized in the 1960s, are responsible for a substantial proportion of upper respiratory tract infections in children. Since 2003, at least 5 new human coronaviruses have been identified, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, which caused significant morbidity and mortality. The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China.

Coronavirus disease spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. Following the escalation of this disease it has become imperative to educate the population on symptoms to watch out for.

Symptoms of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

The severity of COVID-19 symptoms can range from very mild to severe. Some people have no symptoms. People who are older or have existing chronic medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease or diabetes, may be at higher risk of serious illness. This is similar to what is seen with other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza. These symptoms include

Fever or Chills: Coronavirus disease It starts with a fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above) or chills. That’s the most common symptom among patients who get the new coronavirus that has swept across the globe.

A recent study of nearly 140 patients at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University identified a typical pattern of symptoms associated with the virus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19. Around 99% of the patients developed a high temperature, Research from the Chinese Center for Disease Control suggests that around 80% of coronavirus cases are mild . Around 15% of patients have gotten severe cases, and 5% have become critically ill.

Cough: This can be any kind of cough, not just dry. According to the refrenced study above more than half of the 140 patients at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University experienced fatigue and a dry cough.

Shortness of breath or Difficulty breathing: About a third of patients from the study, experienced muscle pain and difficulty breathing. Once symptoms do appear, they can be similar to pneumonia. However, the way COVID-19 worsen over time distinguishes it from pneumonia.

Here’s how symptoms progress among typical patients:

Day 1: Patients run a fever. They may also experience fatigue, muscle pain, and a dry cough. A small minority of them may have had diarrhea or nausea one to two days before.

Day 5: Patients may have difficulty breathing especially if they are older or have a preexisting health condition.

Day 7: This is how long it takes, on average, before patients are admitted to a hospital, according to the Wuhan University study.

Day 8: At this point, patients with severe cases (15%, according to the Chinese CDC) develop acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS), an illness that occurs when fluid builds up the lungs. ARDS is often fatal .

Day 10: If patients have worsening symptoms, this is the time in the disease’s progression when they’re most likely to be admitted to the ICU. These patients probably have more abdominal pain and appetite loss than patients with milder cases. Only a small fraction die: The current fatality rate hovers around 2%.

Day 17: On average, people who recover from the virus are discharged from the hospital after two-and-a-half weeks.

However, the first symptoms might not come right after a person has been infected. Lauren Ancel Meyers, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, says a typical patient may be infected without showing symptoms for five or more days.

Other symptoms can include: