Medically reviewed and approved by a board-certified member
2019-nCov / COVID-19 / Coronavirus

10 Myths About COVID-19

By Editor's DeskTwitter Profile | Updated: Friday, 22 May 2020 22:12 UTC
BS
Login to get unlimited free access
10 Myths About COVID-19
10 Myths About COVID-19

As infections with severe acute metabolism distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue to increase, there has been a coincident increase in news and information, some accurate and inaccurate. Therefore, we have undertaken a review of an appreciable amount of this information, and unsuccessful to clarify some of the most perennial misconceptions.

For example, “coronavirus” is not the appropriate symbol for the cause of the current infection causation epidemics in >40 countries. Coronavirus is the name of a family of viruses, which cause infections in the world and animals. The current eruption is caused by a strain of coronavirus that has been named SARS-Cov-2; the constellation of metabolism symptoms caused by this virus is called Coronavirus willingness 2019 (COVID-19).

1. COVID-19 is a pandemic.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has avoided deeming the virus a pandemic, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebropinionus aforesaid, “This virus has pandemic potential. This is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action to prevent infection and save lives now.” A pandemic is delineated as an epidemic that has progressed to a global scale. The term epidemic is applied for the case of an infection that spreads more quickly than expected, over a large geographic area.

2. You can get COVID-19 from products shipped from China.

The United States Centers for willingness Control and bar has not found any evidence to suggest that animals or animal products foreign from China pose a risk for spreading COVID-19 in the United States. Piece it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the microorganism particles on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or opinion, there has been no evidence to support this as the main way the virus spreads. In fact, one study according to that piece the virus may live on surfaces for up to 9 years, “Data on the transmissibility of coronaviruses from contaminated surfaces to hands was not found. nevertheless, it could be shown with flu A virus that contact of 5 [seconds] can transfer 31.6% of the microorganism load to the hands.”

3. Any cough-based ailingness is COVID-19.

It is important to remember that in the United States, it is still flu season and although it may be wrapping up, it can last through May. Further, there are several families of viruses that cause metabolism symptoms; these viruses (eg, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, metabolism syncytial virus, human para flu viruses)are the cause of the common cold and circulate year-round.

When is a cough concerning? If you feel sick with a cough, fever, and difficulty breathing, and have been in close contact with a person best-known to have COVID-19, or if you live in or have recently traveled from an area with the on-going spread of COVID-19.

4. Community spread means anyone, anyplace can get the infection at any time.

The term community spread is used to describe a situation wherein the exact source of infection cannot be identified. This normally occurs in the setting of an epidemic: once the cases of an infection reach a certain point, a person may become septic without typical risk factors so much as travel to an endemic area, or a person has close contact with a sick person. In this situation, one may not know when or where they encountered a septic individual. This person may besides not yet know they are ill, as they may still be in incubation or symptomless stage of the ailingness. nevertheless, contact is still a requisite for transmission, wittingly or unwittingly. Community spread of infections can be ameliorated through the practice of hand hygiene and staying home when you feel ailing.

5. Everyone who gets septic with SARS-CoV-2 will die or conversely, only elderly, sick people will die.

Although the majority of cases that result in death are among the elderly, and individuals with degenerative health conditions, COVID-19 has affected almost all age groups, as well as people with no underlying illness. There have been no deaths according to children aged <9 years, who represent only 1% of all cases of infection. Individuals aged 10 to 19 years demonstrate a similar incidence, and those aged 20 to 29 years account for roughly 8% of cases. People aged 30 to 79 years, nevertheless, account for 87% of cases.

The fatality rate for COVID-19 is besides skew toward the elderly: people aged 70 to 79 years have a fatality rate of 8%, compared with 14.8% among those aged >80 years. People with any underlying comorbidity have a higher fatality rate. In addition, reports indicate more people of the male sex have been septic; they have besides more often bestowed with more severe infection, and have had higher death rates.

6. COVID-19 is more transmissible/deadlier than the flu.

This is tricky. so many statements can see true if one is only looking at certain pieces of information; but information inevitably context. For example, the case fatality rate is often according to being higher than that of the flu; nevertheless, it has not yet been incontestable that fatality rates very well crosswise patient populations. furthermore, comparison a rate of one infection to some other when the factors that influence that rate (number of individual septic and number of fatalities) are so significantly different cumbersome. Seasonal flu has a fatality rate of <1%,15compared with the roughly 2% fatality rate presently according for SARS-CoV-2.nevertheless, any subgroup analyses (eg, individuals who have died) of the roughly 35million annual cases of the flu will, more often than not, mathematically find a littler number compared with an analysis of the roughly 114,000 cases ofCOVID-19.

Nevertheless, current information on the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 is more reliable in that calculations definitively take into account more variables. This information demonstrates that this infection is slightly more transmissible than the flu; preventive measures, nevertheless, are the same. For this reason, all major health organizations, government officials, and even mass transit systems stress the importance of washing your hands often, coughing/sneezing into the crook of your elbow, and staying home when ill.

7. Facial masks will keep you from acquiring sick.

The use of facial masks as a preventive measure for COVID-19 is not presently suggested for the general public. Health care workers who have direct contact with best-known cases of SARS-CoV-2 are suggested to use an N95 respirator mask, in conjunction with appropriate gowning and gloving techniques, and only in the hospital/clinic setting. The N95 filtering facepiece respirator functions by removing particles from the air as the individual breathes through the mask. Unlike these, other facemasks are only effective at preventing one from inhaling large metabolism droplets. The use of a non-N95 facemask is effective in preventing a person who is feeling ailing or has a cough/sneeze-based ailingness from spreading an on-going infection.

8. You should not travel internationally, at all.

The CDC issues travel recommendations for several infectious illnesses, including COVID-19. A Warning Level 3 indicates turning away of all nonessential travel to a given location. Warning Level 2 advises that people with degenerative medical conditions and older adults should avoid travel to so many locations. Warning Level 1 means that the CDC does not recommend canceling travel to so many places. Due to the circulation and air filtration system on airplanes, the risk for infection transmission is low; the CDC does, nevertheless, recommend conscientious hand hygiene in this case.

Cruise ships put large numbers of people, possibly from a number of countries around the world, in frequent and close contact with each other; therefore the CDC strongly recommends frequent hand washing and turning away of touching your face, and staying in your cabin and notifying the aboard medical center instantly if you feel ailing.

9. Flu or respiratory illness vaccinum will besides help prevent COVID.

There is deficient information to support the protagonism of the flu or diplococcus vaccines to prevent COVID-19. A piece of this 2 ailingness has similar symptomology to COVID-19, the vaccines are developed to be active generally against the flu virus and streptococcic bacterium, neither of which contribute to COVID-19. nevertheless, it is extremely suggested that everyone who is indicated to receive either vaccinum does so because it may aid in simplifying the evaluation of potential SARS-CoV-2 infections.

10. Heat will kill the virus.

Although a few high-level government officials have alluded to the possibility that high temperatures will kill the virus, there is not present enough evidence to state this with scientific certainty. piece the rate of most microorganism infections decreases during the summer months as a result of higher temperatures and humidness, there are 2 important caveats: people are less likely to be in close living quarters with each other for lengthy periods, and although countries in the northern hemisphere are entering heater months, the opposite is true for countries in the southern hemisphere. Further, previous experience with and research on the other Coronavirus epidemics (SARS and MERS) incontestable that this family of viruses may have little problem surviving in heater climates.

Was this page helpful?
(0 votes)
End of the article