Like many winter ailments, Covid-19 disease is linked to a virus, SARS-Cov2. This one has symptoms in common with the flu, the common cold, bronchitis or even gastro. But in some people, Covid-19 turns out to be much more dangerous than other winter ailments. Hence the importance of knowing how to distinguish them.

Often compared to a flu at the start of the epidemic, the Covid-19 worries today by its death rate three times higher than the flu. The symptoms of the coronavirus are numerous and vary from person to person.

The most common symptoms of Covid-19 are:

• fever (88% of those infected).
• dry cough (68%).
• severe fatigue (38%).
• sputum (33%).

Covid-19 disease can also manifest as shortness of breath (19% of cases), body aches (15%), throat irritation (14%), headaches (14%) and chills (11% ).

Rarer, nausea and vomiting (5% of cases), nasal congestion (5%), diarrhea (4%), rejection of blood during coughing (1%) and conjunctivitis ( 0,8%) are symptoms that have been reported by some patients.

More recently, loss of taste and smell has been reported by a minority of infected people. Changes in the skin can also appear in the case of the coronavirus.

In the most severe cases, patients with Covid-19 can suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute renal failure, or even multi-organ failure that can lead to death.

It is known that the symptoms of Covid-19 generally appear 3 to 7 days after infection. Some people are asymptomatic, but they are nonetheless contagious.

Fever, dry cough, body aches, headaches, fatigue, chills… The flu and Covid-19 are symptomatic of one another. In fact, the new coronavirus is proving to be much more serious than the flu in some patients.

Influenza and Covid-19 are distinguished on several points:

• the transmission speed. The incubation period is 5 to 6 days for Covid-19 while it is only 3 days for influenza.
• the period of contagion. A person infected with the influenza virus would be contagious up to 5 days after the onset of the first symptoms in adults, or even 7 days in children. While patients with Covid-19 would be carriers of the virus for 20 days.
• The frequency of severe forms of the disease. Severe forms of the disease (acute respiratory infection) are more common in Covid-19 than in influenza. In addition, those who are seriously ill with influenza are almost always elderly or frail. In Covid-19, seriously ill patients are mostly elderly people with co-morbidities, but there are also young people who were in good health before being infected.
• Death rate. According to the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), the death rate from Covid-19 disease is 3,4% in the general population. A rate three times higher than that of seasonal flu (1%). A difference which is partly explained by the fact that no one was immune to the new coronavirus.
• people at risk of severe form of the disease. Influenza and Covid-19 can be dangerous for older people and people with other illnesses. The flu can also be serious in children and pregnant women, which is not the case with Covid-19. Children seem relatively spared from the new coronavirus so far.

It’s hard to tell the difference between the two conditions if you have the same symptoms. Be aware that if you have Covid-19, there is a greater risk that you will develop a severe form of the disease (20% of cases).

In France, the seasonal flu report published on March 18, 2020 reported 856 serious cases admitted to intensive care since November 4, 2019, including 88 people who died. March 24, 2020, 2 people with Covid-19 are in intensive care in France and 860 have died. 

It is easier to distinguish a cold from Covid-19 than the flu from Covid-19. In the common cold, there is usually little or no fever. Other notable differences from Covid-19, the common cold always causes nasal congestion and runny nose (translucent fluid), tearing, burning in the throat, and frequent sneezing. Rare or non-existent symptoms in Covid-19. Finally, the discomfort caused by a cold lasts shorter and is more bearable than that caused by Covid-19. The common cold subsides after 2 or 3 days, compared to more than a week for Covid-19 disease.

Bronchitis is manifested by a dry cough which in half of cases turns into a fatty cough accompanied by sputum. It is usually not accompanied by fever, but a slight fever (38,5 ° C) may be present in acute bronchitis during the first three days. Bronchitis lasts between 5 and 10 days if it is mild, or two to three weeks in the case of acute bronchitis.

In Covid-19, the cough is most often dry and the fever is more severe and lasts longer. They are often accompanied by headaches and muscle pain, which is not the case with bronchitis.

Angina can be viral or bacterial, although it is most often related to a virus. A rapid diagnostic test done by a doctor can tell them apart. Angina is manifested by severe pain in the throat and a high fever. Other symptoms may be associated: stuffy or runny nose, cough, hoarseness, headache. If the angina is bacterial, the glands in the neck may be swollen and painful, and there is no cough.

In Covid-19, a dry cough is almost systematic but it rarely turns into a fatty cough. Also, the throat is less painful than with angina.

Gastroenteritis is characterized by sudden onset acute diarrhea, nausea and / or vomiting, abdominal cramps, and moderate fever in some cases. These same symptoms can appear in the event of Covid-19, but to date they concern a minority of patients (4 to 5%). In addition, in Covid-19, digestive disorders often precede other symptoms more characteristic of the disease (fever, dry cough, body aches). Unlike Covid-19, gastrointestinal illness lasts for a short time, around 2 to 3 days.

Regardless of your symptoms, always seek the advice of a doctor for a serious diagnosis and appropriate treatment. If, based on your symptoms, you think you have Covid-19, contact your doctor who will tell you what to do with your condition. If your symptoms are moderate, you will probably have to stay confined to your home and protect your loved ones by putting in place the classic barrier gestures (they also apply for winter ailments). If you have difficulty breathing, call 15.