***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by SupDock

Not to mention that your appendix is part of your colon.

As an ultrasound tech I scan for appendix daily and I often see inflamed adjacent colon/ bowel and don’t see the appendix itself, appendicitis unfortunately doesn’t always have a text book presentation.

[SupDock]

Originally Posted by Monticore

As an ultrasound tech I scan for appendix daily and I often see inflamed adjacent colon/ bowel and don’t see the appendix itself, appendicitis unfortunately doesn’t always have a text book presentation.

I'm not disagreeing, but a nonvisualized appendix usually requires CT.
A 2 month smoldering appendicitis seems unlikely. It's hard to say much more without more details.

In a small ED, I have my doubts they would ultrasound a female with acute abdominal pain. As you are aware, you need well trained techs that are very comfortable with doing the imaging. Not to mention this was 10 years ago. I'm not sure how prevalent ultrasound was for acute abdominal pain at that point.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I get that if you are thorough and meticulous with most soaps, you're going to be effective, but the point is 'soap' isn't 'soap.'

Tackle a pan with baked grease with Dawn, and try the same thing with dollar store dish soap. There are differences in the concentration and strength of emulsifiers. Or if you want a stark comparison, check something like SuperClean degreaser.

And I'm not comparing handwashing with soap with disinfecting with Purell and leaving it on your hands. I'm talking about if there are any actual comparative studies of the relative efficacy of various strengths and concentrations of emulsifiers in the various soaps.

Studies of workers in Bangladesh using just soapy water or bar soap and water showed that rinsing with just soapy water alone, which is more dilute, reduced cfu at the same rate of bar soap and water.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4125272/

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

They haven't. They outsource all the ER doctors and my dad was having a stroke then a seizure and the ER doctor just stared at him and did nothing until I started yelling at him to do something. I should have sued their ass

sorry to hear about the family and how they were treated.

I’ve told everyone for years that if you have trauma or or a life thrusting situation, have a plan or tell them to get you to Truman Medical center.

No one has more experience with trauma. Everyone in there knows what to do, where to be, when to be at the body, when to wait for the other person to finish their part. It’s like a choreographed ballet. They can figure out the main issues and address them faster than anyone.

Once your stabilized, you can transfer to another hospital.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So wouldn’t one of these for each person solve everything? You can’t touch your face. You can’t breathe the air. You can’t cough or sneeze on others.

I'd rather roll with one of these:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm good so far. I've been wearing one of those bird masks that doctors wore during the plague. It seems to be working, but mostly because people on the street stay more than six feet away from me when I wear it.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by SupDock

I'm not disagreeing, but a nonvisualized appendix usually requires CT.
A 2 month smoldering appendicitis seems unlikely. It's hard to say much more without more details.

In a small ED, I have my doubts they would ultrasound a female with acute abdominal pain. As you are aware, you need well trained techs that are very comfortable with doing the imaging. Not to mention this was 10 years ago.

Ya i agree if I see that I assume it’s an appendicitis and they normally go for a CT, an early uncomplicated appendicitis won’t always be treated surgically either. Without knowing all the info , what was said to the patient it is hard know what was the issue, patients and families under those circumstances don’t always understand the medical info being tossed at them very well.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So wouldn’t one of these for each person solve everything? You can’t touch your face. You can’t breathe the air. You can’t cough or sneeze on others.

Yeah, that oughta sort it out pretty quickly...

[Bugeater]

Also, are there 300 million of those readily available?

[Donger]

2488 cases now? What was it yesterday?

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by TLO

This is what I'm afraid of in the US. Numbers are certainly going to rise as we do more testing. Are people going to flip their shit when they see the number of positive cases go up?

Yes. And they will go see social distancing isnt working. Derp derp.

This is going to get worse before it gets better just because we will know more infections. Maintain the course. At this point IMO, not enough has even been shut down but we need to do this to help hospitals keep up with the potential amts of sick ppl they will get. We only have so many beds, ventilators etc.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by TLO

This is what I'm afraid of in the US. Numbers are certainly going to rise as we do more testing. Are people going to flip their shit when they see the number of positive cases go up?

They’ll simply demand more toilet paper because Americans are stupid ****ing idiots.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Yes. And they will go see social distancing isnt working. Derp derp.

This is going to get worse before it gets better just because we will know more infections. Maintain the course. At this point IMO, not enough has even been shut down but we need to do this to help hospitals keep up with the potential amts of sick ppl they will get. We only have so many beds, ventilators etc.

Are you saying you don't think that social distancing doesn't work at all?

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Also, are there 300 million of those readily available?

Perhaps one per household. That’s more reasonable. At least then in times like now you could have more confidence in normal activities without worry of catching it. But yes this would be preparation for a potential next one.

[Bugeater]

Curious about the availability of the bird masks. Maybe Rain Man will pop in with the answer.

[Bwana]

Now people are hoarding dog and cat food. I guess that's better than shitter paper.