At the end of January, the first patients in Germany, patients Covid-19. Nine of them were treated in the Munich, clinic Schwabing, and of a research group “very closely virologically investigated,” says Charité-virologist Christian Drosten. Their findings could save more lives.
Drosten and Clemens Wendtner, chief of infectious diseases and tropical medicine at Munich, clinic Schwabing, the two senior authors of a study, which could be in the fight against the Coronavirus is hardly significant; today it was published in the journal “Nature”.
Because with the help of their findings, criteria could be developed to decide the help, when a Patient with limited bed capacity at the earliest discharged from the hospital can be.
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Many of the results are already widely known – they were made at the beginning of February public. Now, however, there are more Details about the approach of the researchers. It was the first German cases, patients younger to middle age, all showed mostly mild and flu-like symptoms such as cough and fever. They also suffered from smell and taste loss.
Over the entire course of the infection, so up to 28 days after the onset of symptoms, were taken daily swabs from the nose and throat, as well as samples of the cough-ejection. The medical chair, blood collected, and urine samples. All samples were analyzed separately in two laboratories, one in the Charité hospital in Berlin, and once at the Institute for Microbiology of the Bundeswehr in Munich, in Sars-CoV-2
Reported corona virus cases in Germany (click on your state)
At the beginning of the symptoms-high viral load in the throat
The researchers observed the following: In the first week after the onset of symptoms, the virus excretion in the throat of the Infected is very high, also in the cough-sputum the experts, large amounts of Virus to demonstrate genome. Thus, it was clear that the Coronavirus is from the old Sars Virus is very different: Due to the genetic Similarity to the original Sars Virus, the research group initially thought that the new Coronavirus, as the old Sars Virus, which only affects the lungs, and thus, not so easily can be transferred.
“Our studies of the Munich group have demonstrated, instead, that the new Sars-Coronavirus of the old is different in terms of the infected tissue,” said Drosten. “Of course, this has enormous consequences for the spread of the infection, which is why we have made known our findings in early February.” So the high viral load indicates the beginning of the symptoms that patients are at a very early stage contagious – without that you notice the infection at all.
Reported corona virus cases in Germany (click on your state)
This is an essential insight. Because: “The infectivity of the Covid-19-patients seems to be of the viral load in the throat or the lungs to hang out. This is an important factor for the decision of when a Patient with limited bed capacity and pressure of time at the earliest discharged from the hospital can be.“
Therefore, the study suggest authors that Covid-19-patients can be discharged with limited bed capacity in the domestic quarantine, if after day ten of the disease less than 100,000 copies of the virus genome in the cough-sputum can be detected.
Now the researchers are planning to investigate in the first German case group and other patients, as well as long-term immunity against Sars-CoV-2 developed. The analyses are also important for the development of vaccines is of great importance.
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