In 2019, COVID-19 began making headlines around the world due to its unprecedented speed of transmission.
Its origins date back to a food market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. From there it reached countries as far away as the United States and the Philippines.
In the last five years, coronavirus infection (officially called SARS-CoV-2) has caused more than 7 million deaths, totaling more than one million in the United States.
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COVID-19 may not cause any symptoms in some people. A December 2020 literature review estimates that 17% of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, meaning they have no symptoms.
Among those who do have symptoms, they may appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure.
Some common symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 include:
Less common symptoms include:
However, other people with COVID-19 may have some, all, or none of the above symptoms.
The most common symptom of COVID-19 is fever. However, a 2020 study of 213 participants with mild illness found that only 11. 6% of them had a fever.
Most people with COVID-19 will only have a mild case. According to the National Institutes of Health’s COVID-19 treatment guidelines, other people would have a mild case if:
That said, cases can still have long-term effects. People who show symptoms months after first contracting the virus (and after it is no longer detectable) are called long-haulers.
According to a 2021 study, about one-third of people with COVID-19 had persistent symptoms for up to nine months after infection.
That said, call an emergency doctor if you or someone you’re concerned about has serious or life-threatening symptoms, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, or confusion.
At the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus caused more deaths than seasonal flu.
However, a 2023 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the outcomes of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 are the same as those hospitalized with the flu.
The exception is COVID-19 patients between the ages of 18 and 49, whose mortality rate is still higher than that of the flu. The flu and COVID-19 also have many of the same symptoms.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic. This means that they first spread in animals before being transmitted to humans. For the virus to be transmitted from animals to humans, the user must come into close contact with an inflamed animal.
There are forty-five known coronaviruses, 8 of which are known to infect humans, in addition to COVID-19. This also includes the non-unusual cold, which has been present in human populations for so long that its transmission is not unusual from one human to another. other.
Once the disease develops in humans, coronavirus transmission can occur from one user to another through respiratory droplets. It is a technical call to the wet curtains that move through the air when you exhale, cough, sneeze or speak.
Viruses float in those droplets. When you breathe, they enter your airways (trachea and lungs), where the virus can cause an infection.
SARS-CoV-2 can also form aerosols or dissolve into a fine spray of debris and moisture and remain suspended in the air for minutes or even hours.
Researchers cannot definitively link COVID-19 to a cause, even five years after it appeared. It is widely believed that the transmission probably occurred at the open food market in Wuhan, China, there are still theories about the virus coming from a laboratory.
In a 2024 report by the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute, 77% of the experts surveyed believed that the virus originated naturally in an animal.
However, one in five experts also say there is a 21% chance that COVID-19 is the result of a “research-related accident. “
You are at the highest risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 if you come into contact with someone who carries the virus, especially if you are exposed to their saliva or were close to them when they coughed, sneezed, or talked.
Without taking preventive measures, you are also at greater risk if:
Older adults (65 years and older) and others with certain fitness conditions are at higher risk for severe headaches if they contract the virus. These fitness conditions include:
The CDC also reports that pregnant women are more likely to have severe illness from COVID-19 than non-pregnant people.
Transmission of the coronavirus to the fetus during pregnancy is unlikely, but the newborn can contract the virus after birth.
However, according to a 2021 study, antibodies from vaccinated women were discovered in cord blood, antibodies are transferred to the baby, and can also be discovered in breast milk.
Diagnosing COVID-19 can be similar to other situations caused by viruses, a blood, saliva or tissue sample.
However, most tests use a cotton swab to take a sample from your nostrils.
Venues include:
Visit your state’s fitness branch or the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to locate testing centers near you.
Over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests should be performed to check if you currently have an active infection.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has those legal controls. You can buy them online and in a maximum of pharmacies and consult them at home with a prescription. If you get a negative result, you can double-check it in case you get a false negative result.
Since it is not unusual to stay home for these tests on those days, it is vital to check the expiration date before taking them.
There is no cure for COVID-19 lately. Over the years, the FDA has approved and deauthorized treatments, such as monoclonal antibody drugs, for example.
On November 30, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdrew the emergency use authorization of bebtelovimab in the United States. It is the latest monoclonal antibody drug approved through the FDA to treat COVID-19. The FDA made the decision because it doesn’t expect it to neutralize the new Omicron subvariants. Today, monoclonal antibody drugs are not as likely to be effective against new variants and subvariants of the virus.
The maximum approved lately for COVID-19, according to the CDC, are a set of antivirals, these are:
Depending on your symptoms and their severity, if you’re hospitalized for COVID-19, you may also benefit from treatment that includes:
The death rate from COVID-19 has especially decreased in recent years. Today, more than 80% of all COVID-19 infections are mild, and many other people contract the virus more than once.
That said, the most serious complication of COVID-19 remains a slow or abrupt decline in fitness, leading to acute respiratory failure and acute respiratory misery syndrome (ARDS), or multi-organ failure that ultimately leads to death.
One study reports that ARDS occurs in up to 32. 2% of cases, while other studies mention that ARDS occurs in only 3. 6% of patients. That said, according to a 2023 study of 4,700 patients who suffered organ failure due to the virus, 5. 8% or 272 patients died from it.
The most common type of organ failure disorder is respiratory formula, followed by disorders of the heart, central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, and kidneys.
Other imaginable headaches include:
The best way to prevent coronavirus transmission is to restrict contact with others with symptoms of COVID-19 or any respiratory infection.
The most productive thing you can do is practice smart hygiene and physical distancing to prevent the transmission of bacteria and viruses.
Although keeping distance and wearing a mask is no longer mandatory, it is for optimal prevention.
If you decide to wear a mask, wash it after each use. Avoid touching the front with your hands. Also, be sure to touch your mouth, nose, and eyes when you take it off. This most likely prevents the virus from passing from the mask to your hands and from your hands to your face.
Some other people don’t wear masks, including:
On December 11, 2020, the FDA granted its first EUA for a vaccine. Since then, new versions have been developed.
The currently available vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. Medical professionals highly recommend them to protect you from serious illness caused by the virus.
The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of five receive at least one dose. Young children, older adults (ages 6 and five and older), and other people with weakened immune systems or certain underlying medical conditions may need more than one dose for optimal effectiveness. This also includes a reminder when an updated edition is published.
Read more: Who is eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot?
The CDC advises you to stay home if you test positive for a respiratory virus, including COVID-19, and to communicate with others for at least 24 hours after your symptoms have resolved and you no longer have a fever (without the use of medicines). . .
If you have COVID-19, you can spread the virus to others before and after you have symptoms. This occurs 1 to 2 days before symptoms appear and 8 to 10 days after. Even if you don’t have positive symptoms yet, you can still spread the virus to other people.
Symptoms usually appear within five to six days of exposure and may persist for 1 to 14 days. Those who develop long covid can experience long-term symptoms for weeks, months, and years.
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a highly transmissible respiratory disease. Although it can range from mild to severe, most people experience mild, uncomplicated symptoms.
While there is no known cure for COVID-19, treatments can be found to help decrease symptoms and improve breathing. Vaccines have helped reduce the severity of the disease in many people.
However, some other people, including young children, the elderly, and others with weakened immune systems, can still spread serious illnesses. For this reason, it is important to stay away from others when you are infected with the coronavirus, even if you don’t have any symptoms.
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