How to distinguish between the new coronavirus and influenza?

Mohamed Ibrahim Bassyouni
2020 / 5 / 15



  Research to date indicates that COVID-19 spreads more easily and that the death rate is higher than influenza.

The coronavirus has a crown of nails on its surface. Since the new coronavirus was first discovered in January, many people have compared it to a more famous disease: influenza.
Many of these comparisons indicated that losses may not be adequately appreciated by influenza, which causes millions of diseases and tens of thousands of deaths every year. During the current flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that there were 39 million to 56 million influenza diseases and 24,000 to 62,000 deaths from influenza in the United States, although this figure is my estimate based on hospital admission with influenza Symptoms, not based on the actual count of each person who died of influenza.

  The new coronavirus, COVID-19, has caused more than 4,558,836 million cases worldwide, 304,242 deaths and 86,970
  Deaths in the U.S. alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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Both COVID-19 and influenza are respiratory diseases. But COVID-19 is not a flu. Research to date indicates that COVID-19 spreads more easily and that the death rate is higher than influenza. Scientists are racing to learn more about COVID-19, and our understanding may change as new information becomes available. Based on what we know so far, here is how to compare it to flu. Seasonal influenza virus versus SARS-2.
 
Symptoms and severity
 
Seasonal influenza viruses (which include influenza A and influenza viruses B) and COVID-19 are infectious viruses that cause respiratory diseases. Symptoms of conventional influenza include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, runny nose´-or-obstruction, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. Flu symptoms often appear suddenly. Most people who catch the flu recover in less than two weeks. But in some people, the flu causes complications, including pneumonia. The total hospitalization rate for the flu in the United States this season is about 69 admissions per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.

With COVID-19, doctors are still trying to understand the full picture of the symptoms of the disease and its severity. The symptoms reported in patients varied from mild to severe, and may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include fever, chills, frequent vibration with chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, and a new loss of taste´-or-smell. COVID-19 symptoms appear to appear more gradually than flu symptoms.

  Older adults and people with underlying medical conditions, including heart disease, lung disease,´-or-diabetes, seem to be at greater risk for developing complications more serious than COVID-19, compared to people in younger age groups who do not have underlying conditions.

The overall hospitalization rate for COVID-19 in the U.S. is about 50 admissions per 100,000 people as of May 8, although the hospitalization rate for adults aged 65 and over is at 162 admissions per 100,000 people , According to the CDC. However, given that the number of people who got COVID-19 in the U.S. is likely lower than those who had the flu, the odds of hospitalization if you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 are thought to be higher than the chances of getting hospitalized for the flu.

  Children are a high-risk group of influenza complications, but this does not seem to be the case for COVID-19 as only a few children have been hospitalized with the new coronavirus. A study of COVID-19 cases in the United States published on March 18 found that out of 4,226 reported cases, at least 508 people (12%) were hospitalized, and among these, less than 1% was younger than 20 years old .

But recently, COVID-19 has been linked to a rare but serious inflammatory syndrome in children, called pediatric inflammatory syndrome.
It is important to note that since respiratory viruses cause similar symptoms, it may be difficult to distinguish between different respiratory viruses based on symptoms alone, according to the World Health Organization.




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