In 2019, COVID-19 began to make 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, infection with the coronavirus (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 can appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure.
Some common symptoms similar to 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 emergency medical service if you or someone you care for has severe or life-threatening symptoms, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, or confusion.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the coronavirus caused more deaths than the 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 18 and 49 years old, whose mortality rate remains 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. This is a technical name for 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 in a fine spray of waste and moisture and remain suspended in the air for minutes or even hours.
Researchers can’t definitively link COVID-19 to a cause even five years after its onset. It is widely believed that the transmission likely occurred at the open food market in Wuhan, China; There are still theories that the virus originated in the lab.
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 have a 21% chance that COVID-19 is the result of a “research 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 or near their saliva when you coughed, sneezed, or talked.
Without taking proper preventative measures, you are also at greater risk if you:
Older adults (age 65 and older) and others with certain physical conditions are at higher risk for severe headaches if they contract the virus. These fitness disorders include:
The CDC also reports that pregnant women are more likely to suffer 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.
The diagnosis of COVID-19 may be similar to other situations caused through viruses in a blood, saliva or tissue pattern.
However, most tests use a cotton swab to take a sample from the nasal passages.
Locations that are included:
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 COVID-19 home 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 at most pharmacies and consult them at home with a doctor’s prescription. If you get a negative result, you can check again in case you get a false negative result.
As it is not unusual to stay these tests at home on those days, it is best to check the expiration date before performing them.
Lately, there is no cure for COVID-19. Over the years, the FDA has approved and disapproved 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.
Most of the recently approved drugs for COVID-19, according to the CDC, are antiviral drugs. These are:
Depending on your symptoms and their severity, if you are hospitalized with COVID-19, you may also benefit from treatment that includes:
The rate of deaths from COVID-19 has particularly declined 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 only occurs in 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 the respiratory system, followed by disorders of the heart, central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, and kidneys.
Other headaches imaginable include:
The best way to avoid coronavirus transmission is to restrict contact with other people 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 your 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 do not wear masks, including:
On December 11, 2020, the FDA granted its first EUA for a vaccine. Since then, new versions have been developed.
The newly available vaccines are manufactured through Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. Healthcare professionals highly recommend them to protect you from serious illness caused by the virus.
The CDC recommends that anyone over the age of five get at least one dose. Young children, older adults (ages 6 to 5 and older), and others with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions may need more than one dose to achieve optimal effectiveness. . This also includes a reminder when an updated edition is published.
Read more: Who is eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster?
The CDC advises you to stay home if you test positive for a respiratory virus, adding COVID-19, and to communicate with others for at least 24 hours after your symptoms have gone away and you no longer have a fever (without the use of medication). . .
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 within 8 to 10 days afterward. Even if you don’t have symptoms yet, test positive. , you can still transmit 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.
Although there is no known cure for COVID-19, remedies can be found to help lessen symptoms and make breathing easier. 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 illness. For this reason, it’s important to stay away from others when you’re infected with the coronavirus, even if you don’t have any symptoms.
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