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The first case of the coronavirus in Poland was confirmed by the minister of health on March 4. Since then, we learn about new infected and fatalities every day. We reassure you that the COVID-19 coronavirus is not a lethal threat for most of the infected. The course of the disease is still not fully understood, but doctors point out that the immune system’s response to infection is very important. So what determines the patient’s chances of recovery?
Coronavirus from the Chinese city of Wuhan, officially named COVID-2, is the pathogen causing COVID-19 disease. Sick people show symptoms similar to pneumonia, but the severity of symptoms varies. The vast majority of cases are mild, which is closer to a common cold than to dangerous inflammation. Severe cases of COVID-19 disease occur in about 14% of cases. patients.
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Why can COVID-19 disease be life threatening? It is mainly about aggressive pneumonia, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and a significant strain on the respiratory system. If such a severe course of the disease occurs, there is a risk of septic shock and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome.
How does COVID-19 disease progress?
The onset of coronavirus disease can occur unexpectedly. People who have been in contact with the carrier of the pathogen sometimes show the first symptoms after 2–10 days. However, the multiplication of the virus in the body may take up to 24 days and only then show up.
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COVID-19 infection is slightly different from one patient to another, although the main symptoms – high fever, cough, shortness of breath – are characteristic of this disease. The muscle, head and throat aches and pains that are typical of the flu, as well as the feeling of breakdown, are also slightly less common. If the immune system is effective at fighting the coronavirus, the inflammation will disappear over time and symptoms will improve. However, the patient’s path to health is not always so simple.
Patients with COVID-19 should follow WHO’s recommendations so as not to transfer the coronavirus to other people.
In some cases, especially in immunocompromised people, the immune system cannot cope with the infection. The problem is exacerbated when there is an overproduction of macrophages and T lymphocytes. They secrete cytokines, the excess of which leads to autoimmunity on the part of the body – it attacks not only the virus cells but also itself. It is still unclear why such uncontrolled immune responses occur. They most often concern elderly patients with chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and people with weakened immunity (especially in the case of immunosuppression and neoplastic diseases).
An unfavorable autoimmune reaction causes the patient’s condition to deteriorate. Damage to the lungs and other tissues represent life-threatening. It is this uncontrolled course of COVID-19 disease that can lead to death.
Problems with fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the body appear in the elderly – this group is often affected by problems with immunity disorders. The current analysis of the epidemiological situation shows that the risk of death increases with age. Less than 19% of those infected with the COVID-50 coronavirus before the age of 1 statistically die. sick. People who are 80 years of age or older most often die (mortality rate at the level of 14,8%).
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Age is not the only factor influencing the risk of death. The acute course of the disease ending in death is observed in people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and respiratory diseases.
Scientists have still not made clear what leads to death from COVID-19 in young people without chronic disease. Mortality in this group is low, but deaths do occur. It is suspected that genetics are important, as well as the devastating effect of smoking on the lungs.
see also:
- 10 questions about the coronavirus. What do you need to know?
- Coronavirus – how to stop the epidemic? WHO guidelines
- What are the symptoms of the disease caused by the coronavirus?
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