How Can We Prepare for the Potential 2020 Influenza Pandemic?

Chris Remington
Published Jan 19, 2024


During the influenza epidemic of 1918, 500 million infected people worldwide succumbed to the H1N1 influenza virus: 100 million of them died. The 1918 pandemic attacked patients' lungs leaving them unable to breathe. It spread from person to person through airborne virus particles. Like the current 2020 corona virus outbreak, the 1918 influenza virus originated in Asia. Chinese and Vietnamese workers in France and the United States advanced the deadly disease. The 1918 pandemic preceded the discovery of penicillin.
 

How Did the 2020 COVID-19 Corona Virus Evolve?



The COVID-19 coronavirus is not definitely linked to a specific animal or bird, but it probably developed in bats and may have passed to snakes before it infected the first humans in the open Chinese farmer's market. COVID-19 is passed through liquid droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The 2020 Corona virus is diagnosed by culturing saliva, blood, or tissue samples. A lab technician can find antibodies for the virus in a saliva or respiratory secretion sample from the back of your throat.
 

Two Strains of Covid-19 Virus Coexist



Researchers at Peking University identified 103 genomes of existing the 2020 coronavirus. They believe that the aggressive deadly COVID-19 virus is a mutation of the less virulent corona virus. Seventy percent of all COVID-19 patients suffer from the lethal aggressive form of the disease with only 30 percent suffering from the less virulent type of the corona virus. The incubation period for COVID-19 is two days to two weeks. Patients are asymptomatic during their incubation period. Those with preexisting medical conditions are more likely than most to die of the COVID-19 virus.
 

Amplification Studies Are Needed to Predict Treatment Outcomes



Studies of patients' genetics, symptoms, medications used to treat the disease, and patients' prognoses are needed to accurately project the outcome of the COVID-19 disease and the progression of its symptoms. Forbes Magazine reports that COVID-19 is 3.4% deadly compared to 1.1% for all seasonal flus. COVID-19 related deaths increased worldwide, but the number of new cases in China has steadily decreased since mid-February. South Korea, Iran, and Italy are the countries with the most reported corona virus cases during March 2020. Antibacterial hand sanitizers are needed to reduce the transmission of the deadly disease.
 

Preventing the Spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus



The CDC recommends avoiding close contact with sick people and staying at home if you yourself get sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Disinfect all household surfaces with disinfectant wipes. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom, after coughing or sneezing, or before eating. Symptoms of the disease tend to be fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
 

Emergency Medical Treatment Providers



Emergency medical services (EMS) triage and transport patients for emergency medical treatment. EMS personnel make rapid decisions regarding patients' health. Emergency medical providers are expected to wear disposable gloves, a disposable gown, a respiratory mask, and eye protection such as goggles that shield the front and sides of the worker's face. Extra caution must be exercised when applying ventilation, suction, intubation, or nebulizer or cardiopulmonary resuscitation treatments. If possible the ambulance HVAC system should be activated to dissipate the potentially coronavirus particles in the environment. COVID-19 patients must be isolated from others. Family members can not travel with the patient. A rear exhaust fan can be used to direct infected air away from the patient. COVID-19 Corona virus patients must be transported into an airborne infection isolation room in the receiving hospital.
 

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Declared State of Emergency



By March 7, 2020, the deadly coronavirus infected more than 103,800 people and killed more than 3,500 people in 92 different countries. The New York Times reports 76 coronavirus cases within the state of New York. The declaration of emergency in the State of New York is hoped to accelerate the availability of test kits, the purchase of supplies, and the assistance of workers in the local health department of nurses to monitor thousands of self-quarantined patients.

Now that the 2020 coronavirus has appeared in at least half of the 50 Untied States, it's impossible to believe that the United States will be spared the 2020 flu pandemic. Health care providers and hospital personnel exposed to the coronavirus have tested positive for the 2020 corona virus, but only 17 people have died in the United States. Pneumonia is a frequently occurring side effect of the COVID-19 corona virus. The corona virus may be treated with antiviral or retroviral medications, breathing support, steroids to reduce swelling, and blood plasma transfusions.

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