Dr. Kashyap Panganamamula, M.D.
Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy .
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center ,
Philadelphia , PA , USA
Email: kashyap.pang@gmail.com
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Here are some important facts about Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic ,
1.80% of the patients have milder disease and 20% will have
severe symptoms/ complications
2. Complications are more likely in people above 65 years
age, and People with Lung problems, heart failure or Diabetes . But young
people can also develop complications and die
3.Asymptomatic patients can also transmit the infection as
the virus is present in the airways and
respiratory secretions and possibly account for lot of
community spread
4. The virus can survive on surfaces up to 3 days
( not just 12 hours as was stated in some circulating messages)
5.Most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and Shortness of
Breath. Some patients are reporting headache, muscle pains. Up to 48% patients
can have Gastrointestinal symptoms – including diarrhea, nausea/ vomiting
6.Patients with milder symptoms can isolate themselves but
seek medical attention immediately if they have any breathing problems . If you
have mild symptoms, make sure you drink lot of fluids to keep yourself hydrated.
7.Severe symptoms in children are not reported but children
can get infected and spread the
infection to others
8. Medications in
combination -Azithromycin and Hydroxychloroquine are being studied for
treatment and we will know the results soon.
9.There is no vaccine yet (contrary to some messages
circulated recently) but some vaccines are being evaluated in clinical trials.
10.Whether rising temperatures ( summer) will stop or slow
the spread of infection or not is not known yet. But if it does then there is a
chance that virus will return in the winter unless a vaccine comes out by then.
Precautions:
1.Most important thing is social distancing – Droplets can spread from coughing and sneezing up to 1 meter . (maximum distance is unknown). Maintain a minimum of 6 feet from each other.
2.Wash hands frequently, after using the bathroom, before eating with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer, eat only cooked food. Do not touch face, nose and eyes with your hands
3.Those with symptoms should isolate themselves for 2 weeks
and should wear a mask. They should not use the same bath room that is used by
patients/ suspected patients until it is properly
cleaned with disinfectants– Patients or those with symptoms
should flush the toilet with the lid closed as there is evidence that stool
also can transmit the infection and flushing causes stool to
create aerosols that can be inhaled by other people using
the bathroom
Hope this information will be helpful to our people.
