Summary of information that will help new virus pneumonia `` fear right ''

New virus pneumonia `` correctly scared '' information to help summary February 5 14:23

More than a month since the Chinese government first reported a new coronavirus infection from Wuhan in Hubei Province to the World Health Organization (WHO). During this time, a lot has been learned about the virus. What we can say for now is that vigilance is still needed. Here's some helpful information to help you "get scared".

What is the infectivity / lethality?

At present, the transmission rate is 1.4 to 2.5 in WHO, and 2.2 in early cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China.

It is likely to change in the future, but in any case, it is as infectious as the flu so far.

On the other hand, the mortality rate is about 5% in Wuhan, which has been the main cause of infection at this stage, about 2% in mainland China, and about 1% outside China.

It seems that the spread of the infection will be large in Wuhan and mainland China and other areas, and that especially in Wuhan, a large number of patients have appeared and medical institutions can not respond sufficiently. You.

In any case, it can be said that it is not high compared with SARS, which had a fatality rate of about 10%.

However, even if the mortality rate is low, if the number of infected people, which is the denominator, increases, the number of seriously ill and deceased people will naturally increase, so caution is required.

Countermeasures to minimize the spread of infection are still needed.

Research reports from overseas for treatment

Vaccines to prevent infections and control symptoms and reports of treatments for treatment have been published in China, the United States, Thailand, and elsewhere.

The virus infects by binding to proteins called "receptors" on the surface of human cells, but a group at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China has reported that a new coronavirus is the same as the SARS virus that spread 17 years ago. Reported to bind to "receptors".

The research group says that therapeutics and vaccines that have been developed for SARS may be used.

Research groups such as the CDC Center for Disease Control in the United States have given patients with pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus an antiviral drug that has been developed as a treatment for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is said that symptoms disappeared, and fever subsided.

In addition, the Thai Ministry of Health has announced that a combination treatment of influenza and a drug that suppresses the development of AIDS was given to Chinese patients, but the coronavirus was no longer detected and symptoms improved.

However, these reports are still in their infancy and none of them have been established as a treatment, and further clinical trials are needed to make them widely available to patients.

Spread the infection during the incubation period?

There have been various reports on the incubation period during which infection does not cause symptoms, but the average is around 5 days, up to 10 to 2 weeks.

For example, the incubation period for influenza is about 2 to 4 days.

In comparison, the new coronavirus is long.

If the incubation period is long, it will be difficult to take measures at the border, for example, the infected person will not be able to show symptoms or pass through even in quarantine.

Many experts point out that health care should be put in place, as if the infected person may have gone through.

In addition, it has been reported that the new coronavirus was infected without any symptoms during the incubation period.

Spreading the infection without any symptoms is also known in the flu, and in some cases the flu has occurred without anyone coughing around.

The same is expected to occur with the new coronavirus.

On February 4, a research group at Hokkaido University published a study that found that one in two patients, such as in China, appeared to be infected by patients during the incubation period.

It can spread the infection without your knowledge.

Who needs attention? What are the measures?

So far, not all people have pneumonia when infected with the new coronavirus, and many people have mild symptoms.

However, it is reported that most of the severely ill people were elderly people or people with chronic illness, so it is necessary to pay attention to people with weakened immunity like general infectious diseases.

Specifically, people with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, people who use immunosuppressants for rheumatism, etc., and elderly people.

Pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus, so care must be taken to avoid crowds.

Infants also need to be careful because it is difficult to thoroughly wash their hands and wear a mask.

As a basic infectious disease countermeasure, it is important to make it a habit to thoroughly wash hands and take a rest.