The National Health Commission of China held a press conference this afternoon to introduce the health protection of pregnant women, infants, and childcare institutions during the new coronary pneumonia epidemic prevention and control.
There were reporters asking how to distinguish between common cold, flu and pneumonitis infected by the new coronavirus. According to a WeChat public account under Beijing Daily, the experts provided detailed answers from four aspects.
Wang Quan, director of the emergency department of Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, said that from the source, time of onset, symptoms, susceptible population, etc., pneumonia caused by common cold, flu and new coronavirus is different in 4 points.
First, the cause of the disease is different. The flu is not a common cold. It is a respiratory infection and is caused by the flu virus. In China, influenza is now classified as a Class C infectious disease.
The common cold, which may occur all year round, is not an infectious disease, but a common disease, mainly caused by common respiratory viral infections.
Pneumonia infected by the new coronavirus is an infectious disease and has a clear epidemiological history. At present, China has identified it as a Class B infectious disease and managed it according to a Class A infectious disease.
Second, the time of onset is inconsistent. Colds occur throughout the year and there is no obvious seasonality. Although the flu can also occur throughout the year, the high incidence season is mainly winter and spring. New coronavirus-infected pneumonia is a newly-onset disease in the winter of 2019.
Third, the symptoms are different. A cold usually has symptoms of nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing, and may have a fever, but this kind of fever is usually a low to moderate fever, which lasts for 1-3 days, and basically can heal for 3-5 days. A cold rarely has systemic symptoms of muscle pain or weakness throughout the body.
Influenza has a very pronounced fever, and it is often high fever. This heat course is relatively long, usually 3-5 days, and it can heal in about a week. The main cause of influenza is often accompanied by systemic symptoms, including general muscle pain, weakness, and headaches.
As for pneumonia due to new coronavirus infections, because of the limited number of cases in children, the main symptoms of confirmed cases include fever, cough, and fatigue, and vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Clinical diagnosis relies heavily on epidemiological history, so Dr. Wang Quan urges parents to provide their medical history truthfully when they take their child to the clinic to make a correct diagnosis faster and more accurately.
Fourth, the severity is different from the susceptible population. People of all ages are susceptible to colds. Because there are no complications, the severity is very low. Serious complications are rarely seen, and there are almost no fatal cases.
Although the flu is susceptible to the entire population, some critically ill flus are at high risk. Children under 5 years old, especially children under 2 years old, 65 years old or older, obese people, pregnant women, patients with immunosuppression, and some patients with chronic underlying diseases, are People at high risk of influenza. And the flu can cause complications in various systems throughout the body and can be fatal. The main cause of fatality is these serious complications.
As for new coronavirus infections, the population is also generally susceptible. At present, infants and children can be ill, but the elderly and patients with chronic underlying diseases are more serious and may cause death.
