COVID Care - Complete

Coronaviruses are a common group of viruses. Some viruses of Corona affect only animals whereas a few others can also affect humans. In humans, many coronaviruses are known to cause infections to respiratory system ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases E.g., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The most recently discovered coronavirus called as 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is responsible to cause Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

How does COVID – 19 spread?

• The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in droplets (small liquid particles) when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe.
• One may directly get infected from this or may also get infected when these droplets land on surfaces and objects.
• The infection may spread by touching contaminated surfaces and objects.

Signs and Symptoms

• Sneezing and coughing
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Loss of smell / taste
• Diarrhoea
• Chest pain

Older people and those with underlying medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. However, person of any age can develop serious complications of the infection resulting in death.

Infected people typically show symptoms after 2-14 days. It is in this period, people are responsible for spreading the virus in the community. Hence, guidelines of isolation and quarantine should be followed very strictly to stop the spread.

Increasing research on COVID-19 has shown that it not only affects respiratory system but also alters immune response and clotting mechanism in the body. It has been seen in research that not only the infection but also its treatment can have severe adverse effect on kidney and liver. Liver and Kidney are the two crucial organs for detoxification and waste removal.

All of the above mentioned parameters provide insights into extent of infection and to assess whether COVID-19 infection has had any severe impact on crucial organs. Abnormal levels of one or more parameters help in understanding severity of damage and managing the treatment.