The authoritative physician clarified the most troubling inquiries about the pandemic, its spread and possible duration.
Chief infectious disease specialist of the FMBA of Russia, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology of the N.N. N.I. Pirogov
Symptoms and Treatment
At the very beginning of the epidemic, my mother began to drink antiviral drugs. It seems to me that this is not necessary. Am I right? (Elena Petrova, Norilsk)
– It depends on what means are used. There are many antiviral drugs, they are of direct and indirect action. There are no drugs that have a direct effect on the coronavirus yet. There are antiviral agents of nonspecific broad action, they increase the interferon status. These are anaferon, ergoferon, kagocel, nasal drops based on interferon gamma. Their application makes sense. But taking, for example, direct-acting medications that protect against herpes is useless, as well as hoping for anti-flu remedies.
The daughter has recently been ill with pneumonia. Does this increase her risk of contracting the coronavirus? (Irina Potapova, Moscow)
– You need to know what kind of pneumonia was. Do you mean that the body is weakened after an illness? Yes, against the background of a previous infection, immunity may decrease, so it is important to observe precautions.
I read that one of the signs of coronavirus infection is shortness of breath. Is it so? And what can be considered shortness of breath? (Peter Antipov, Tula)
– Correct interpretation of shortness of breath – difficulty in inhaling and exhaling. The test, which is now being promoted, inhale and hold your breath, speaks only of the condition of the lungs, there is a pathology or not. But with any pneumonia there will be a violation. It is believed that a person commits 16–18 respiratory movements per minute, but there is no single rate, deviations are possible for a number of reasons. Ideally, a person is able to hold their breath for 10 or more seconds.
I have a slight runny nose, temperature 37,8, sore throat. Should I call a doctor in such a situation? I don’t want to go to the infectious diseases hospital. Can I get sick at home? (Victor Guzeev, Moscow)
– On the phone, either geniuses or idiots are treated. It is possible that there are some other symptoms that you simply did not notice. Temperature of 37,8 is not a joke. In this situation, it is better to call a doctor.
Do antipyretics help with coronavirus? Ibuprofen is said to give good results. (Valeria Surkova, Tambov)
– Antipyretics help with all diseases, another question is whether it is necessary to lower the temperature. Its increase indicates that the body is fighting. When a person is sick, creating a normal temperature is counterproductive.
What do doctors mean when they talk about the severe course of coronavirus infection? What are the symptoms of a person who needs to be treated in a hospital? (Angelina Zhogina, Pskov)
– An absolute indication for hospitalization – signs of pneumonia. They say that the disease has gone according to a difficult scenario. 75–80% of cases proceed as usual seasonal ARVI. But signs of damage to the respiratory system indicate the need for hospitalization for health reasons. Patients with a mild to moderate course of coronavirus do not need to be admitted to a hospital. Otherwise, we will send all positive patients to the hospital. Can’t we keep people in wards because of a runny nose? But the damage to the lungs indicates the direct effect of the virus on them.
How are patients with severe coronavirus treated and what is required for mild disease? (Marina Pimenova, Kursk)
– There are guidelines; complexly use antiviral drugs, if necessary, resort to artificial ventilation, in extreme cases, do extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (saturation of blood with oxygen. – Approx. “Antenna”). The mild form does not need to be treated with medication. In this case, it is important for the sick person to lie at home, observing the rules of hygiene, so as not to infect the family. The drugs used in the severe form of coronavirus are toxic, therefore, if there is a threat to life, they must be used, but with a runny nose and sore throat, heavy artillery is dangerous and pointless.
Diagnostics
It is said that soon it will be possible to get tested in commercial clinics. Is it worth doing this if there are no symptoms of the disease, just for your own reassurance, and can you trust private laboratories? (Alexey Tupikin, Ramenskoye)
– Previously, testing was not allowed for private clinics, but PCR analysis does not carry a harmful principle, it is safe. The final decision on whether to carry out diagnostics without indications or not is up to Rospotrebnadzor. Now experts are inclined to allow testing. To trust or not to trust private clinics? There are firms that distribute wrong results to the right and left, but in most cases there are responsible laboratories that can conduct research normally and honestly.
The diagnosis is made on the basis of a test, but does it happen that the results differ on different days? For example, at first, the disease was not detected, but when the test was repeated, it turned out that the person was infected. Maybe we don’t have very accurate test systems? (Pavel Novikov, Anapa)
– At some point, the virus may not appear, but the situation is capable of changing, this is a complex dynamic process. Therefore, the results of the samples taken on different days may differ. As for the quality of test systems, I am not a laboratory assistant, but I think that our diagnostics are no worse than Western ones.
At the beginning of the epidemic, they said that the Chinese did not give us the virus. Why did we need it? (Sergey Puryshev, Cheboksary)
– They really didn’t, we got the virus ourselves. This was necessary in order to understand the dynamics of the spread of infection and develop a vaccine. The work on the code sent by the Chinese would be more difficult, since there may be errors in its decryption. A living agent is needed, because a copy is always worse than the original.
Forecasts
It is believed that the activity of the spread of coronavirus will sharply decrease in April-May. Do you share this point of view? (Stanislav Prokofiev, Noginsk)
– Of course, by this time pro-epidemic will take place (the gradual development of active immunity to infection as a result of multiple contacts of a person with the causative agent of the disease, which were not accompanied by its development. – Approx. “Antenna”), an immune layer will appear, as according to the results of vaccination. Therefore, the epidemic should subside by summer.
One gets the impression that the virus in China was more aggressive; fortunately, there are not so many cases in our country. Is the coronavirus mutating and getting weaker? (Anna Eliseeva, Moscow)
– I think that it is really getting weaker, the virus is beneficial to have mild forms, not severe ones. Suffice it to recall the situation with the swine flu in 2009. As soon as he appeared, he killed, and then realized that he was sawing the branch on which he was sitting, he did not need it. Today, swine flu is a seasonal illness.
Why is the mortality rate so high in Italy? They say the reason is that there are a lot of elderly people in the country, but there is also a high percentage of elderly people in Japan. (Irina Tulupova, Ozyory)
– There is also a question in diagnostics. In reality, the mortality rate from coronavirus is low, but according to the criteria of the World Health Organization, if an elderly person with a bunch of chronic diseases dies in a hospital, it does not matter from what, in the first place in the conclusion they will still be diagnosed with coronavirus. Such accounting overestimates the lethality, but these are the requirements of the WHO. The same is the case with a Russian patient, whose cause of death was thromboembolism. Since she was admitted to a medical facility with the coronavirus, it was considered the cause of death. But the woman did not have pneumonia, she did not die of infection.
I read on the Internet that in Iceland, a patient contracted two strains of coronavirus at once. It mutates. Is it possible? (Antonina Sergeeva, Podolsk)
– While we are not talking about various strains, I have not heard anything like it. But a person can get sick both the flu and the coronavirus at the same time.
In many programs I hear that the flu takes more lives than the coronavirus. But then why strict quarantine measures? Indeed, during a flu epidemic, only children’s institutions are closed, and now many work at home. (Svetlana Veltonen, Ivangorod)
– In the event of a flu epidemic, there is a gradual rise in the number of diseases and a gradual decline. It is positive that we get vaccinated. Now quarantine is needed to prevent a sharp jump in diseases, it is important to prevent overloading of medical institutions. It is necessary to stretch the growth of the epidemic in time, then the medical service will be able to work as usual.
How long does coronavirus live on different surfaces? What is the incubation period? (Ivan, 36 years old, manager, Azov)
– It lasts from several hours to a day. The incubation period has been found to last up to 14 days. You can get sick 2 days after contact with the carrier of the virus, and after 7, and after 10.
Does it make sense to use bactericidal quartz lamps to disinfect the air in an apartment during an epidemic? (Elena, designer, Chelyabinsk)
– These devices are quite effective, but it is important that there are no people and animals in the room while the lamp is operating. Such a disinfection measure is a double-edged sword.
Once a vaccine is developed, will it be included in the annual immunization schedule? (Irina Nordenshtern, Mytishchi)
– It’s hard to say, it all depends on how the virus behaves. We still have to think about it. But it is possible that COVID-2019 will now make noise and subside. While there is no vaccine, the main thing is – you can quickly get it, add the vaccination calendar.
What is the likelihood of re-contracting the coronavirus. Does immunity develop after an infection? (Veronika Pavlenko, 21 years old, student)
– While opinions are different. Probably, you can get sick, but without clinical manifestations. I have not heard that a person would have respiratory distress syndrome twice in a row during this period.
The daughter is being vaccinated against HPV (human papillomavirus vaccination). I had two vaccinations – in October, then two months later. In April, you need to do the third. Should I refuse vaccination due to coronavirus? (Zemfira, 61 years old, Elektrostal)
– I think that by April the epidemic will fade away, so it’s hardly worth giving up.
Where can I get a vaccination schedule for adults if I have not been vaccinated since childhood or vaccinated selectively? Where to start if there is only BCG? (Lyudmila Mikhailova, teacher, Yekaterinburg)
– It is necessary to contact the district clinic. The doctor, taking into account the age, concomitant diseases, will select a specific scheme. One general answer is not enough.
Is it true that pets – cats, dogs and even parrots – are carriers of the coronavirus and are also susceptible to this disease? And is it okay to walk the dog now? In some countries, this was banned for the period of the pandemic. (Irina Panteleva, Aprelevka)
– Animals have their own coronaviruses, they have nothing to do with ours. Walking with dogs has nothing to do with it, human infection from animals has not been recorded. It is another matter if the house should not be left at all. After all, going for bread may be prohibited, but you have to go to the store, because you cannot do without it. Walking the dog is another matter.
There are no medical masks on sale, even construction respirators were disassembled. Is it important to use these protections? (Sergey Gavrilov, Bryansk)
– A controversial issue. The world recommends, but there are pros and cons. The excitement caused by the lack of masks is not justified. A mask worn on a patient protects others. There is no point in wearing it for a healthy person.