Coronavirus & # 039; camouflaged & # 039; like flu: more than 5% of cases could be Covid-19

A study of Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center, in the United States, has submitted a diagnostic test for Covid-19 to a total of 131 patients who went to one of the city's hospitals with what looked like the flu.

The tests were carried out between 12 and 13 and 15 and 16 last March, to individuals who are not in the risk groups; that is to say, that they had not recently traveled to areas classified as critical in the virus pandemic, that they had not had contact with travelers from said areas and that they had no relatives admitted to or suffered from respiratory infections.

The results? 5.3% of them tested positive for coronavirus, despite presenting mild symptoms of what, until now, they believed was the flu. After that, these cases were attended by experts from the Department of Public Health.

5.3% of the analyzed cases tested positive for Covid, despite presenting mild symptoms of what looked like a mild flu

"These (seven) patients had a disease mild enough to be active in the community throughout their illness, increasing the likelihood of transmission, "the study authors state." And such transmission is consistent with the third – unusual – peak of influenza-like infections across the (Los Angeles) county. that happened at the end of the season, "they add; an increase that leads them to suspect that the 'hidden' coronavirus has increased these data.

For this reason, the objective of the study is to "determine what proportion of minor, outpatient and flu-like illnesses were actually caused by SARS-CoV-2According to its authors, the data on the transmission of the coronavirus by people without risk factors and with mild symptoms are therefore far from reality.

In the state, the Covid-19 diagnostic test was administered as a priority to people who had a serious illness or risk factors. "Therefore, transmission (of the coronavirus) by people with mild diseases and without risk factors is poorly quantified"sentences the study.

Results

The mean age of patients who tested positive for coronavirus was 38 years old and 3 of them were men (which represents 43% of the total). According to the study, the duration, on average, of his symptoms was just under 4 days. Six of them had fever and only one cough.

The mean age of the patients who tested positive for coronavirus was 38 years and 3 of them were men.

The experts who have carried out this research acknowledge that having investigated a single medical center in the city and for such a short period of time considerably limited the scope of their study. However, they point out, they suggest that their work does reveal that the containment efforts carried out so far in certain areas of the country remain weak, since they allow the coronavirus 'cam at ease' camouflaged, as if it were a mild and little aggressive flu.