The signs and symptoms of people infected with the corona virus (2019 nCoV) are no different from those with a mild common cold. Therefore, it is not possible to fully diagnose someone who is infected with Coronavirus without proper laboratory tests. But this never-before-described pandemic disease (epidemic spread across many countries) has the potential to cause severe deterioration of the patient’s condition that requires rigorous respiratory and other support for survival and may even cause death of patients. The main symptoms reported are fever, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Most people have a mild course of the disease, some require intensive care, and few do not survive the disease.
The WHO has classified people infected with nCoV into the following clinical syndromes:
| clinical syndrome | Signs and symptoms |
| uncomplicated disease | Fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, malaise, headache, muscle pain. |
| Mild pneumonia (lung infection) | Fever, cough, shortness of breath |
| severe pneumonia | Pneumonia + rapid breathing but not maintaining oxygen saturation |
| Septicemia | Patient with organ dysfunction |
| Septic shock | The patient does not maintain blood pressure even after giving fluids. |
People who are at risk of being infected by the Corona virus:
Not all people are at risk of developing the disease, but the following factors greatly increase your risks and you should take the necessary precautions to diagnose the disease early and minimize the spread of the disease. The youngest age is reported to be around 13, which is great because it avoids a lot of kids under that age.
- Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI): People with a history of fever and cough requiring admission to hospital with no other definite cause.
- Travel history to Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in the 14 days prior to the onset of the symptoms listed above.
- Health worker with exposure to patients with severe acute respiratory infections
- Symptomatic persons with a) close physical contact with a confirmed case of nCoV infection b) been in a health care facility where hospital-associated nCoV infections have been reported
- Immunocompromised patients and people with other diseases: These are the most vulnerable groups and take about 80% of all deaths.
Reference : Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected: WHO interim guidance.
The signs and symptoms of people infected with the corona virus (2019 nCoV) are no different from those with a mild common cold. Therefore, it is not possible to fully diagnose someone who is infected with Coronavirus without proper laboratory tests. But this never-before-described pandemic disease (epidemic spread across many countries) has the potential to cause severe deterioration of the patient’s condition that requires rigorous respiratory and other support for survival and may even cause death of patients. The main symptoms reported are fever, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Most people have a mild course of the disease, some require intensive care, and few do not survive the disease.
The WHO has classified people infected with nCoV into the following clinical syndromes:
| clinical syndrome | Signs and symptoms |
| uncomplicated disease | Fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, malaise, headache, muscle pain. |
| Mild pneumonia (lung infection) | Fever, cough, shortness of breath |
| severe pneumonia | Pneumonia + rapid breathing but not maintaining oxygen saturation |
| Septicemia | Patient with organ dysfunction |
| Septic shock | The patient does not maintain blood pressure even after giving fluids. |
People who are at risk of being infected by the Corona virus:
Not all people are at risk of developing the disease, but the following factors greatly increase your risks and you should take the necessary precautions to diagnose the disease early and minimize the spread of the disease. The youngest age is reported to be around 13, which is great because it avoids a lot of kids under that age.
- Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI): People with a history of fever and cough requiring admission to hospital with no other definite cause.
- Travel history to Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in the 14 days prior to the onset of the symptoms listed above.
- Health worker with exposure to patients with severe acute respiratory infections
- Symptomatic persons with a) close physical contact with a confirmed case of nCoV infection b) been in a health care facility where hospital-associated nCoV infections have been reported
- Immunocompromised patients and people with other diseases: These are the most vulnerable groups and take about 80% of all deaths.
Reference : Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected: WHO interim guidance.