US mayor says he had coronavirus last year, worried people dismissed it as bad flu

‘Michael Melham, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, told the Global Times via a statement that he visited his primary care physician on April 29 and asked to have his blood tested for antibodies related to COVID-19 as he suspected that he had been potentially positive for coronavirus in late November, but dismissed it because he kept hearing the first cases were in January.

‘The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on January 21 the first case was a man who had returned to the Seattle area after visiting Wuhan.

‘Within five minutes of the blood test, the doctor shared the positive antibody results with the mayor, prompting Melham to think back to the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City in November, when he recalled driving back up the Garden State Parkway on Thursday, November 21 not feeling well, suspecting the reason was a mix of exhaustion and dehydration from the three-day event.’

Read here (Global Times, May 7, 2020)

Paul Garner: For 7 weeks I have been through a roller coaster of ill health, extreme emotions, and utter exhaustion

‘In mid March I developed covid-19. For almost seven weeks I have been through a roller coaster of ill health, extreme emotions, and utter exhaustion. Although not hospitalised, it has been frightening and long. The illness ebbs and flows, but never goes away. Health professionals, employers, partners, and people with the disease need to know that this illness can last for weeks, and the long tail is not some “post-viral fatigue syndrome”—it is the disease. People who have a more protracted illness need help to understand and cope with the constantly shifting, bizarre symptoms, and their unpredictable course.

‘The aim of this piece is to get this message out: for some people the illness goes on for a few weeks. Symptoms come and go, are strange and frightening. The exhaustion is severe, real, and part of the illness. And we all need support and love from the community around us.’

Read here (BMJ Opinion, May 5, 2020)

‘Very worried’: Britain issues alert as possible new coronavirus syndrome emerges in children

‘Health officials in Britain warn that a potential new coronavirus-related syndrome is emerging in children, with a rise in cases prompting an urgent alert to doctors across the country. The alert revealed an "apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the United Kingdom".’

Read here (The Sydney Morning Herald, April 28, 2020)

CDC confirms six coronavirus symptoms showing up in patients over and over

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added six symptoms of the novel coronavirus to its list, suggesting health experts are learning more about the growing number of ways physicians see the virus affecting patients. The symptoms, which the CDC reports could appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, are: (1) chills (2) repeated shaking with chills (3) muscle pain (4) headache (5) sore throat (6) new loss of taste or smell. Previously, the CDC listed just three known symptoms: shortness of breath, cough and fever.

Read here (Washington Post, April 28, 2020)

Seniors with Covid-19 show unusual symptoms, doctors say

‘Covid-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: a fever, an insistent cough and shortness of breath. But older adults — the age group most at risk of severe complications or death from this condition ― may have none of these characteristics. Instead, seniors may seem “off” — not acting like themselves ― early on after being infected by the coronavirus. They may sleep more than usual or stop eating. They may seem unusually apathetic or confused, losing orientation to their surroundings. They may become dizzy and fall. Sometimes, seniors stop speaking or simply collapse.’

Read here (CNN, April 23, 2020)

Children and Covid-19: Systematic review of 18 studies

A systematic review of 18 studies shows most children had mild symptoms, if any, and generally required supportive care only. Typically, they had a good prognosis and recovered within 1 to 2 weeks. ‘In this systematic review of 18 studies with 1065 participants, most pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection presented with fever, dry cough, and fatigue or were asymptomatic; 1 infant presented with pneumonia, complicated by shock and kidney failure, and was successfully treated with intensive care. Most pediatric patients were hospitalised, and symptomatic children received mainly supportive care; no deaths were reported in the age range of 0 to 9 years.’

Read here (JamaNetwork, April 22, 2020)

Covid-19, ‘silent hypoxia’ and a simple way to identify patients sooner (even do it at home with a ‘pulse oximeter’)

‘We are just beginning to recognise that Covid pneumonia initially causes a form of oxygen deprivation we call “silent hypoxia” — “silent” because of its insidious, hard-to-detect nature...

‘There is a way we could identify more patients who have Covid pneumonia sooner and treat them more effectively — and it would not require waiting for a coronavirus test at a hospital or doctor’s office. It requires detecting silent hypoxia early through a common medical device that can be purchased without a prescription at most pharmacies: a pulse oximeter...

‘Pulse oximetry is no more complicated than using a thermometer. These small devices turn on with one button and are placed on a fingertip. In a few seconds, two numbers are displayed: oxygen saturation and pulse rate. Pulse oximeters are extremely reliable in detecting oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates.’

Read here (New York Times, April 20, 2020)