Abstract

Rajeev Shah*, Reena Mehta, Shaista Saiyad, Parul Sharma, Ashish Mittal and Ramesh Chavada

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).[1] It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and since spread globally, resulting in an ongoing pandemic.[2,3] The first case may be traced back to 17 November 2019.[4] Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of smell and taste.[5,6,7] While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) likely precipitated by a cytokine storm, multi-organ failure, septic shock, and blood clots.[8,9,10] The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days.[511] The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact,most often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking.[5,12,15] The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than travelling through air over long distances.[6] Less commonly, people may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face.[6,12] It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread is possible before symptoms appear, and from people who do not show symptoms.[512] The standard method of diagnosis is by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab.[16] Chest CT imaging may also be helpful for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, guidelines do not recommend using CT imaging for routine screening.[17,18]