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What is more dangerous, what are the differences between influenza and Covid-19?

What is more dangerous, influenza viruses or the novel corona virus? The flu is often used for comparison when discussing measures against the Covid 19 pandemic. The rapidly increasing number of infections worldwide shows the strength of the new corona pathogen: its speed, at which it is transmitted primarily from person to person via droplets and aerosols.

It’s just not a “normal” flu virus – seasonal, regional, treatable. That’s why politicians all over the world put the brakes on under the catchphrase “Lockdown”.

Influenza viruses and coronavirus differ

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Why politicians and health authorities worldwide order drastic measures such as quarantine for the coronavirus becomes clearer when the two diseases are compared more closely. In the past few months, researchers and health authorities have found out more and more about Sars-CoV-2. Also the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown important similarities and differences between flu and Covid-19 on his homepage since mid-March.

Similarities and differences between Covid-19 and flu

  • Expression of infectious diseases: Covid-19 and the flu are a virus-related illness that affects the airways. The course can be very different – asymptomatic, mild to very difficult, sometimes even fatal. However, doctors are now assuming that Covid-19 is more than just a lung disease. “Covid-19 can manifest itself in a variety of ways, not only in the lungs, but also in other organ systems,” says the Robert Koch Institute.
  • Recreation: The recovery process in a severe Covid 19 course takes longer than in the case of flu. Patients are often ventilated in the intensive care unit for weeks. A picture of possible long-term consequences is slowly emerging. Some patients, who are actually already considered to be well, complain long afterwards about headaches, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, neurological consequences.
  • Symptoms: Fever, dry cough and tiredness count as possible signs of infection in Covid-19. In addition, there may also be a loss of taste and smell, followed by shortness of breath and pain in the chest area. With influenza, the disease often starts suddenly – with a very high fever, chills, headache, sore throat and cough.
  • Transmission: Both pathogens are primarily passed on via droplets, for example when speaking or coughing, or also in direct contact. There is increasing evidence that the coronavirus is also transmitted via aerosols, i.e. invisible particles that remain in the air for a long time as a cloud – especially in closed rooms.
  • Prevention: The same precautions apply to flu and Covid-19: good hand hygiene, coughing in the elbows or a handkerchief, avoiding contact with infected people, keeping a minimum distance.

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Covid-19 and flu in comparison

  • Propagation speed: According to the WHO, influenza has a shorter incubation period between infection and the development of the first symptoms. Infections in the infection chains follow one another more quickly. With Covid-19 this interval is about five to six days, with influenza three days. This means that influenza can spread faster than Covid-19.
  • Transmission: Influenza often infects other people even before symptoms develop. Scientists have found that Covid-19 shows transmissions from 24 to 48 hours before symptoms occur. According to the current state of knowledge, however, they are less common than with the flu and played a minor role in the spread, the WHO explains.
  • Contagion rate: According to WHO data, Sars-CoV-2 is passed on from one infected person to an average of two to two and a half other people – and thus to more than in the case of influenza. Because of the uncertain data situation and various effects influencing the value, a comparison in this aspect is only possible to a limited extent, according to the WHO.
  • Children: They are important drivers of the spread of influenza viruses in the community, according to the WHO. For the Covid 19 pathogen, initial evaluations showed that children show symptoms less often than adults, but can also become infected. Due to the lack of data, it is still unclear to what extent children are infectious and are considered to be the drivers of the pandemic spread.
  • Disease course: According to previous evaluations, severe to life-threatening courses are more common with Covid-19 than with the flu. According to the WHO, the course is so severe in 15 percent of those infected that an additional supply of oxygen is necessary. 5 percent of those infected require artificial ventilation in the intensive care unit. The death rate is also higher than in the normal seasonal flu epidemic – however, it is currently difficult to provide exact information.

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A pandemic claimed around 20 million lives in 1918: the Spanish flu. © Saskia Bücker/RND

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  • Risk groups: Children, pregnant women, the elderly as well as people with chronic diseases or a weakened immune system are considered to be particularly at risk from influenza in severe cases. With Covid-19, a general definition of a risk group according to current knowledge is not possible, says the Robert Koch Institute. The list of risk factors for a severe course of the disease becomes longer and longer as the pandemic progresses: for example, old age, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, weakened immune system, smoking, obesity, combinations of these.
  • Treatment: With influenza, there are both protective vaccinations and approved antiviral drugs. Coronavirus does not currently have a vaccine or a widely available drug against the disease Covid-19. As of early July, there are 17 promising vaccine candidates, according to the WHO. Current plans assume that sufficient amounts of vaccine doses will not be available until 2021 at the earliest – if the studies go well. The only approved active ingredient so far is remdesivir, which was originally developed to fight Ebola viruses. So far, however, it has only been approved in the USA, Japan and more recently in the EU, the doses are limited. The drug is said to shorten the duration of treatment in the hospital by a few days.

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