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Coronavirus: When to call your doctor? – World

To date, no confirmed case of coronavirus has been identified by the authorities on Vaud territory. “We had a suspicious case this weekend, involving someone from China. However, his tests turned out to be negative, ”said Éric Masserey, assistant cantonal doctor. At this stage, the Vaud system to deal with the risk of the spread of the disease thus essentially relies on information to the population and the management of suspect cases.

But, in practical terms, how do you know when to worry? “There are two criteria, explains Éric Masserey. The first has arrived from China in the past 14 days, and no longer only from the Chinese province of Hubei, where the largest number of sick people are concentrated. The second criteria is to have respiratory symptoms, which include coughing, a cold, and over 38 degrees of fever. ”

If these criteria are met, people are invited to contact their doctor or the emergency room by telephone. When contacted, the CHUV indicates that it has not registered any proven or suspected case to date. The cantonal hospital has, however, been taking action for two weeks already. “The question of a trip to China is asked upon arrival to all patients who present to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection or influenza-like illness,” details Catherine Cossy, spokesperson.


Also read: How Switzerland is preparing for the coronavirus


In the event of a positive response, the CHUV plans to automatically place the persons concerned away from other patients in order to carry out an initial assessment in an individual box. Then, if the person meets the criteria for a suspect case, a test will be performed and the patient will be transferred either to an isolated room or to intensive care, depending on their clinical condition. Even if the tests will be sent to Geneva, where the National Reference Center for Emerging Viruses is located, the CHUV specifies that there is no question of transferring the patients there. The hospital will take care of all confirmed cases for the canton.

“The WHO has just changed its estimate of the risk of importation and spread of cases from” moderate “to” high “, notes Eric Masserey. At this point, we have not put in place any specific device for an epidemic situation, but we must be prepared to take on more cases in the coming weeks. ”The current device could evolve very quickly. “New information and instructions are coming to us all the time. We can follow the situation almost live, much more than during SARS. ”

Created: 27.01.2020, 21h54

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