COVID-19 (Research Paper Sample)

Covid-19
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease is a respiratory infection caused by a virus from the SARS family of viruses identified as SARS-CoV-2. In addition to causing respiratory problems for patients, Covid-19 also adversely affects other bodily functions such as the sense of smell and taste. Other key symptoms associated with the condition include cough, fever, and fatigue, although symptoms are not present in all diagnosed cases. Patients with ongoing health conditions are the most adversely affected by the disease and can quickly develop fatal health complications after infection, such as the failure of multiple organs and blood clots.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Effect of Covid-19 on the respiratory system. [ Source: BBC]
Symptoms of the disease are usually detected five days after infection, although in healthy individuals’ symptoms may appear after 14 days (Fauci, Lane, & Redfield, 2020). The virus is transmitted from person to person through close contact when an infected person sneezes or talks. Research has also shown tiny droplets of body fluids that remain in the air can result in infections.
Age is one of the main risk factors for Covid-19, although individuals of all ages can be infected. Older patients are more likely to be adversely affected by the virus than younger patients (Jordan, Adab, & Cheng, 2020). Patients with underlying health conditions are also adversely affected by the virus and have the highest mortality rate among infected groups.
Due to the ease with which the virus is spread, individuals who have been in contact with an infected individual are advised by experts to get tested as soon as possible as symptoms may not show for extended periods. The presence of the virus can only be confirmed by a laboratory test that usually takes several hours, depending on the backlog. Studies are yet to confirm whether patients that do not show any symptoms can transmit the virus.
Fever is identified as one of the main symptoms of COVID-19, although its severity varies greatly from patient to patient. Studies have shown that fever did not develop immediately for all patients, even for high-risk patients that were believed to be susceptible to the disease (Gostic, Gomez, Mummah, Kucharski, & Lloyd-Smith, 2020). Shortness of breath has also been identified as one of the most common symptoms of the disease. As a result, it is a basis for its diagnosis. Studies have shown that most patients diagnosed with the disease had difficulty breathing as the first main symptom.
A swab test is the most commonly used testing method for Covid-19. A swab stick is inserted in the nasal cavity and is then rotated several times to get a specimen for testing. Samples may be collected from both nasal cavities to ensure there is enough for comprehensive testing. However, tests are not usually available in all locations due to high demand, and doctors may restrict them to patients with acute symptoms.
Chest CT scans have also been identified as one of the most effective and conclusive ways of diagnosing Covid-19. According to Begley (2020), chest CT scans are more reliable in determining the presence of Covid-19 by presenting a visual analysis of its effect on individual body parts. While a swab test may miss the virus in the early stages of infection, the CT scan tends to be more accurate and successfully diagnosed more than 97% of patients subjected to it, as compared to swab tests that aided in the diagnosis of only 84%.
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