Coronavirus in Belarus: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Coronavirus is a new strain that has not previously been detected in humans. Coronavirus causes disease from a household cold to SARS and serious complications.

How dangerous is COVID-19?

Coronaviruses affect the human respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract, but this is not the only thing that is dangerous. Coronavirus has a specific penetration mechanism - it penetrates the cell through its membrane and is embedded in human DNA. This leads to damage to tissues in the respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract, causing further complications.

Coronaviruses do not penetrate through the cell membrane in a chaotic order, but attack the transmembrane receptors and mimic S-proteins important for life, which leads to complicated recognition of the virus by the immune system.

Some coronaviruses are contagious even before symptoms appear in an infected person.

How does the virus spread?

Infected people can infect Coronavirus. The disease is transmitted from person to person through small droplets released from the nose or mouth by sneezing and coughing. The droplets get on surrounding objects and surfaces. Infection can occur by touching these objects and then in the eyes, nose or mouth. Infection can also occur by breathing small droplets that are released when you sneeze and cough with contaminated COVID-19. It is therefore important to maintain a distance of more than 1 meter.

How can I get coronavirus?

Coronavirus can be contracted from an infected person or animal. Mechanisms of disease transmission:

• by airborne droplets;
• airborne dust;
• fecal-oral;
• through contact with an infected person.

The incubation period is about 5 days, but may last from 1 to 14 days.

Immunity after the disease is not generated - it can be re-infected. With repeated and subsequent infection, the disease is more severe than it was the first time and causes severe complications to the respiratory system.

How do I recognize the first signs of COVID-19?

Signs of coronavirus include respiratory syndromes, fever, cough, breathing problems and respiratory disorders. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia or acute respiratory syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and death of an infected person.

Symptoms of COVID-19

Contaminated COVID-19 has the following symptoms:

• pain in swallowing and sneezing;
• rhinitis;
• headache;
• reduced oxygen content in the body or individual organs and tissues;
• coughing;
• temperature rise;
• chill;
• muscle pain.

Picture 1 Photo by polese.by

Carrier of infection is contagious

In some cases, infected people may have no symptoms, i.e. the virus test will be positive, but you will not worry about sickness. But even if you have no symptoms, you're still contagious. However, the risk of infection from such a person is extremely low. Also, many people have very few symptoms of coronavirus. This is common in the early stages of the disease. In such cases, patients are hospitalized to further monitor and prevent the virus from spreading.

Who's at risk?

WHO notes that older people and those with somatic conditions such as hypertension, heart, lung, cancer or diabetes mellitus are at risk.

Complications in the coronavirus

Complications in coronavirus patients may be as follows:

• pneumonia;
• arrhythmia;
• respiratory failure, which develops a pronounced oxygen deficiency;
• acute renal insufficiency;
• complications of severe infectious diseases;
• formation of blood clots in blood vessels;
• complication of pregnancy.

Diagnosis

Laboratory diagnostics

Laboratory diagnostics are performed using tests to detect coronavirus RNA. The main biomaterial to be tested is a nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal smear.

Diagnostic indicators and biomarkers

Coronavirus manifests itself in varying degrees of severity, so one of the tasks of the diagnosis is to identify patients in a timely manner, in which the disease may progress into severe form. For this purpose, appropriate biomarkers are identified. Depending on the severity of the disease, blood tests are carried out to guide the patient and respond in a timely manner to changes in his condition.

Critical patients have an increased content of markers of inflammatory processes in plasma.

Serological tests

Serological tests are under development. At the end of February, the first reports about the creation of tests based on the definition of specific antibodies in the body appeared. The method of combined testing of blood on IgM- and IgG-antibodies to the virus simultaneously was tested. Testing for immunoglobulins M makes it possible to determine the fact of recent virus infection, while testing for immunoglobulins G determines the presence of infection at later stages of the disease. Testing time is 15 minutes, and the final sensitivity and specificity during the trial was 89% and 91%.

Picture 2 Photo by ria.ru

Why is quarantine so important?

Quarantine with COVID-19 will help prevent the rapid spread of the virus, as well as contact with strangers who may be infected but do not know about it.

The methods of treating coronavirus in humans

Vaccine

Now there is no vaccine against coronavirus, so now only symptoms are treated if they are present and a second test is performed.

Doctor's advices

Now there are no recommended medications to prevent or treat infection. But doctors recommend to introduce into the diet vegetables and fruits, and take vitamins A, E, C, D. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Alexander Chuchalin said that the prevention of coronavirus is worth taking vitamins A and E. Vitamin C is best taken in the early stages of coronavirus disease. In addition, vitamin D is more suitable for the prevention of viral infections. Vitamin D is also said to be more important than vitamin C. "Vitamin D is a very important substance for human health, which is involved in most body functions and serves to maintain immunity, among other things.

Folk methods

Folk methods of coronavirus treatment are unknown. If you have symptoms of coronavirus or ODS, it is recommended to see a doctor. You should also not take any supplements yourself. Bioadditives are not medicines, and therefore they do not have a pronounced physiological effect. It is better to replace supplements with vitamins.

Also, do not take antibiotics without a doctor's appointment. Scientists say that antibiotics can not cope with coronavirus, as they are effective only against bacteria or fungi, but not against viruses that live inside the body cells. However, your doctor can prescribe you antibiotics if there is a risk of bacterial co-infection.

There are many myths about taking small amounts of alcohol to prevent coronavirus infection. You shouldn't resort to such measures, as alcohol weakens your body and immune system.

Preventing coronavirus in humans – basic recommendations

To minimize the risk of infection, the following recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health of Belarus should be followed:

• carry the antiseptic and wash your hands often with soap;
• do not visit places where there are large concentrations of people: cinemas, restaurants, cafes and so on;
• minimize travel by public transport;
• do not go out to the shop during rush hours, but arrange delivery if possible;
• protect the airways with masks, eyes with goggles and hands with gloves;
• do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth with dirty hands;
• not to make contact with strangers;
• disinfect door handles with antiseptic when you come home;
• do frequent wet cleaning in the house;
• do not wear a mask for more than two hours;
• throw out the mask only in an airtight package;
• do not touch the mask with your hands outside;
• remove and put on the mask correctly;
• avoid travel to neighboring countries and cities.

People with poor immunity and chronic diseases are at risk, so it is worth observing self-isolation and all preventive measures developed by WHO and the Ministry of Health.

Picture 3 Photo by tass.ru

Coronavirus vaccine

Vaccine development

The first cases of coronavirus were detected in December 2019, but by April, no vaccine against COVID-19 had been found yet. Scientists in China and America are now working to develop a vaccine, but this is not a fast process, as coronavirus has not been fully studied.

In mid-March, clinical trials for a new type of vaccine against coronavirus began in China. More than a hundred volunteers are participating in the trials, divided into three groups. The first group receives a low dosage, the second group an average dosage, the third group a high dosage. The clinical trials are expected to last from March 16 to December 31, 2020.

What to do and where to go with the disease in Belarus?

If you show signs of pneumonia, high fever and cough, you should contact an ambulance. If you have returned from another country and found symptoms, the doctor should inform you that you were abroad.

If the coronavirus test shows a positive result, the doctor will inform the local health authorities and the patient will be admitted to a specially equipped isolation ward. At the hospital, doctors will monitor you and every few hours you will have to take your temperature and take a coronavirus test every fourteen days.

Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus, it is better to stay at home on self-insulation, if possible to switch to remote work and minimize contact with others. To reduce the risk of COVID-19, follow the recommendations of the WHO and Ministry of Health.