Coronavirus: Pandemic or Pedantic?

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) is taking over the news but is it going to take over your health? What does this virus mean for central Ohio families?

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and for that reason can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an outbreak in Wuhan, China. Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath, and pneumonia. The mortality rate is estimated to be 1:50.

How does COVID-19 differ from SARS, a novel Coronaviral disease with a mortality rate of 1:10, that caused an international epidemic several years ago? SARS was a virus that replicated in the lungs, causing much more damage than COVID-19 that replicates in the nasopharynx. Because SARS infected and grew in patients’ lungs it was much less transmissible than COVID-19 which is easily transmitted by coughs and sneezes. 

The SARS outbreak, which reached 29 countries, was ultimately contained using traditional public health measures, such as testing, isolating patients and screening people at airports and other places where they might spread the virus. The strategy to control SARS was simple: If sick people can be stopped from infecting healthy people, the disease will eventually die off as it luckily did. 

Unfortunately, COVID-19, being much more contagious may be harder to contain than SARS was. This is complicated by the fact that infected patients may initially be symptom free, but actively shedding the virus. 

What does this mean to Columbus?

If you were in China within the past 14 days or exposed to a known contact and feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, you should seek medical care. 

Is there a risk from products shipped from China? According to the CDC, “In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures. Coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread most often by respiratory droplets. Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods.”  

Should I wear a mask to protect myself?

The CDC again advises as follows:

“The CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it.”

Although, the symptoms of COVID-19 are very much like common influenza, you should do all you can not to get the more common and locally circulating influenza virus.

GET A FLU SHOt

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. If you do develop flu symptoms contact your physician who will help determine if you qualify for an antiviral medication. 

Hopefully the intense testing, isolating, and screening for COVID-19 that is currently going on in China will be as effective as the effort that ultimately contained SARS. 

The CDC considers this to be a rapidly evolving situation.  Trusted resources should be referenced frequently for the latest updates. 

Recommended sites would include:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/china-travel-advisory.html

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus