For doctors, the battle against coronavirus is the battle against the unknown. How does it attack the body? What are the symptoms? Who is more likely to get seriously ill or die? How do you cure it?
Finally, a team of doctors in charge of the fight against the epidemic at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan is answering these questions.
A detailed analysis of the first 99 patients treated in the hospital has been published in the scientific journal Lancet.
Lung problems
All 99 patients who went to the hospital had penumbra - the lungs were inflamed and the small sacs carrying oxygen from the air into the blood were filled with water.
Other symptoms:
82 had a fever
81 had cough
31 were breathing
11 had muscle aches
9 were confused
8 had headaches
5 had sore throats
The first deaths
The first two patients who lost their lives seemed healthy but had been smoking for many years and this had weakened their lungs.
The first, a 61-year-old man, had severe grade pneumonia when he went to hospital. The lungs did not supply the organs with oxygen. Although attached to a device that aids the lungs, her heart stopped beating.
He died 11 days after being hospitalized.
The second patient, a 69-year-old man, also did not supply the organs with oxygen. He also connected to an external device, but that did not suffice. He died of pneumonia and septic shock when the tension subsided.
At least 11% die
Until January 25, out of 99 patients
57 were still in the hospital
31 were released
11 died
This is not to say that the disease mortality rate is 11%, as the fate of those hospitalized and those who have not been hospitalized is not yet known.
Employees of the market
The source of the infection is believed to be live animals sold in the Huanan market. 49 of the 99 patients had a direct link to the market,
47 worked there, as managers or salesmen
2 were buyers
Middle-aged men were most affected
Most of the 99 patients were men aged 56-67 years.
However, newly published data says that for every infected woman, there are 1.2 infected men,
There are two explanations for this difference:
Men are more likely to become infected
Men, for social or cultural reasons, may be more likely to be exposed to the virus.
And those who were sick
Most of the 99 patients suffered from other diseases that made them more vulnerable to the virus as a result of their weakened immune system.
40 had weak hearts or damaged blood vessels
12 patients had diabetes
