Kerala: Three confirmed novel coronavirus patients have mild lower respiratory infection

KOCHI: The three patients tested positive for novel coronavirus and admitted to the isolation wards of three government hospitals have mild, lower respiratory infection.
They had returned from Wuhan and reportedly have mild temperature, dry cough, with complaint of breathlessness. They have been provided symptomatic treatment. Their condition is stable.
“At the moment we are providing symptomatic treatment as there is no direct treatment. Condition of the three patients is stable and none of them has required any ventilator support,” said principal health secretary Dr Rajan N Khobragade.
The three are admitted in the isolation wards in medical colleges at Thrissur and Alappuzha and district hospital at Kasaragod. A special team of doctors and nurses is working in fourhour shifts each and checking the patients’ BP, pulse and other vitals every 15 minutes. “At the moment, the symptoms of those admitted with nCoV are minor and no specialist intervention is needed,” said Dr P S Shajahan, associate professor of pulmonary medicine, Government TD Medical College, Alappuzha.
Meanwhile, two later test samples of the patient in Thrissur have also returned positive, health authorities said. However, her condition continues to be satisfactory.
Her condition is improving and her confidence level has been up for the last two days. Authorities are sending samples for testing every alternative day, and this will continue till she tests negative, they added.
“The medical parameters of the three patients are normal. It appears to be a mild respiratory infection which in some persons can become worse and therefore we are not taking any chances. Your body fights the viral respiratory infections and therefore it is important to keep body healthy and strong by taking enough food and fluids,” said Dr Amar Fettle, state nodal officer (public emergency), currently in charge of anti-nCoV effort in the state.
Though those tested positive for nCoV have mild symptoms, what has the health authorities worried is that it is spread at a faster rate. Health officials said the impact of any disease on society depends on two aspects. First, basic reproduction number — how a disease spreads from one person to another and second is on fatality rate. While one nCoV infected person can spread it to 1.5 to 2.4 persons, the fatality rate is around 2 to 3 %.
“Nearly 75% cases have only mild, lower respiratory infection and need supportive treatment. Only 25 % develop severe viral broncho pneumonia and can get critical. It is a droplet infection that behaves like infleunza and that’s the reason we are giving so much importance to isolation as it can spread faster than Nipah,” said Dr Aravind R, head of department, infectious diseases, Trivandrum Medical College.
Patients tested positive will be kept in isolation for 28 days at the hospital. If a throat swab tests positive, then as per the discharge criteria, once a patient is better, then their throat swabs will be send again for tests. If 24 hours apart both swabs are negative then only they will be send to home isolation. The most crucial link of Kerala’s disease containment is home isolation and the success of same will decide the future of the state.
(With inputs from Thrissur bureau)