The 10 most important unanswered questions about Covid-19

Coronavirus is a family of viruses that includes the common cold, SARS and MERS.The most recent COVID-19 outbreak involves a new strain that previously have not been identified in human.

They are in large family of viruses that causes respiratory infections. Coronaviruses are also said to be zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. 

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can spread among people or through direct contact with an infected person.

  The incubation period   takes 1-14 DAYS to 24 DAYS       

      What are the incidence?

Coronavirus affects all ages and gender (SEX) but common in older people, probably because of decreased immunologic response to infection and the metabolic alterations associated with aging.

It is most prevalent in Asia and Europe than in Africa (Ghana).

 The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China.

Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s. Coronaviruses are also said to be zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.  Example,SARS-COV is transmitted by civet cat to human.

MERS-COV is from drown day camel to human.

From person to person.

What are some of the risk factors?

In Ghana, the people most at risk of getting the virus are those who have recently travelled overseas, particularly to high risk countries.Eg.China, and Italy.

Been in close contact with someone who has a confirmed case of COVID-19.

People with compromised immune systems (such as people who have cancer)

Elderly people

People with chronic medical conditions

Overcrowding with infected people

People in detention facilities

Very young children and babies

Poor hygiene

Drinking water that that contains Coronavirus

What are some of the mode of transmission?

Someone with the virus sneezes or coughs on you, leaving respiratory droplets on your skin or clothing, or you touch someone who has the virus on their skin or clothing.

You then touch your face, which gives the virus an entry point via your mouth, nose, or eyes.

 Direct transmission : Respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

 Indirect transmission : By touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not the main way the virus spreads.

By touching an infected person's hands or face, or by touching things such as doorknobs that infected people have touched.

Do you know the Signs and Symptoms of the deadly disease?

1. Breathing difficulties

2. Runny Nose                                              

3. Sore Throat

4. Muscle ache

5. Headache

6. Diarrhea

7. Coughing of blood Swabs from nose and throat

8. Fever

   How do I get tested and diagnosed?

Your doctor will decide if you need testing, based on the following criteria

You have returned from overseas in the 14 days before you feel unwell

You have been a close or casual contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case in the 14 days before you feel unwell

You have a fever or acute respiratory infection (e.g. shortness of breath, cough, sore throat) with or without fever

You have a severe community-acquired pneumonia and no other cause of it is clear to your doctor, with or without recent international travel

If you are a healthcare worker with direct patient contact and have a fever (37.5)and an acute respiratory infection (e.g. shortness of breath, cough, sore throat)

Not all suspected cases are confirm cases. However, all suspected cases must be quarantined.

Do we have a treatment for COVID-19?

There is no treatment and vaccine for coronavirus, but medical care can treat most of the symptoms.

Antibiotics do not work on viruses. If you have been diagnosed with coronavirus, isolate yourself in your home.

What are some of its complications?

Pneumonia

Severe or Sudden acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)

Multi-organ failure, eg .,kidney failure

In severe cases death

What are some of the prevention methods?

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.

Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

Thoroughly cook meat and eggs.

Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

Disinfection and regular cleaning of surfaces

Regular washing of dirty clothing

Exposure to the sun for at least 2 hours

Put sanitizer in your pocket or bag always

 Drink hot water regularly

Gargle of warm and salt water

Avoid clouded places

 Leave one step or 1 meter from a person with the signs of the condition

Avoid hand shakes

 Wipe and disinfect your phone with sanitizer

 Avoid contact with live animals and pets

Avoid traveling to coronavirus infected places or countries

Are there precaution measures for the sick person?

Adhere to directive issued Authorities(Ghana).

Report at health facility for treatment

Take your medications as prescribed

Eat four(4) star diet to improve your immune system

Stay home when you are sick.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a dust bin.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

What role do children play in the spread of Covid-19? And why aren’t they getting very sick with it?

“When there’s an influenza epidemic, kids are often some of the biggest community spreaders,” Hotez explains.

But with Covid-19, kids generally don’t seem to be getting severely ill. Which is leading researchers to ask: Are kids a big source of transmission of this virus? “When we’re talking about closing schools, we’re doing that under the assumption that kids are significant community transmitters,” Hotez says. “If we knew that one way or another, we could make a more informed decision.”

On this, the data is slowly coming in,“We do know that children tend to have more mild infection, have more mild disease, but we have seen [at least one child] die from this infection,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the Covid-19 technical lead at the World Health Organization, said in a press conference on March 16. “We can’t say universally that it’s mild in children, so it’s important that we protect children as a vulnerable population.”While kids usually seem to be spared the worst, so many questions remain, as Vox’s Umair Irfan explains: “A small percentage of younger people, from babies to young adults, have also suffered serious harm,” he writes. “Few children are being tested for the virus, so there still isn’t much good information about how many children are getting infected overall. And from there, it’s hard to gauge the rate of severe illness for the young.”

What leads some people to be at higher risk for the worst symptoms of Covid-19?

On the question of risk factors, there seems to be one clear answer for the most prominent factor: age. Older people appear to be dying in much higher numbers from Covid-19 than younger people.

But we still don’t know a lot about what else contributes to risk. Even among older people, there are unanswered questions. Like why do men appear to be dying at higher rates than women?

Though the risks to older people are being emphasized, young people are also being hospitalized. New data from the CDC now shows that while Covid-19 is currently less than 1 percent fatal among those ages 20 to 54, this group makes up 38 percent of the hospitalizations so far (with 20 percent of the hospitalization occurring among those ages 22 to 44.

“It’s really an open question to try to figure out why some of these younger people are getting really, really severe disease, and if there are other risk factors that we are not appreciating,” Rasmussen says. “Some of that will just have to wait until we have really detailed clinical data on all the cases that are coming out now in Italy and in the United States.” Knowing who is most at risk, she says, “will help in terms of flattening the curve.” If we learn how to protect the young people most at risk and keep them out of hospitals, we can decrease strain on our health care system.

And a big part of keeping the health care system working well is ensuring its workers — who are often in this 20- to 54-year-old group — remain healthy. “We don’t understand why hospital workers also seem to be at higher risk for severe disease than you would expect based on their age,” Hotez says. “Is it just that they get exposed to a large dose of the virus? Do they have some type of susceptibility that we don’t understand?”

Currently, we don’t know.

 

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