# could you have had this and not know?



## johnwilliams (14 Apr 2020)

dont know if it is a myth/fake news ,but is it possibe to have had this and not know you had it ?


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## odyssey06 (14 Apr 2020)

Yes you could...








						Have I already had coronavirus? How would I know and what should I do?
					

Covid-19 symptoms, when they occur, vary widely and undertesting means many people have probably been unwittingly infected




					www.theguardian.com


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## Leo (15 Apr 2020)

Some studies on data from China suggest that up to 80% of carriers might be asymptomatic. 

The actual rate may vary by population and the rate of prevalence of underlying conditions believed to exacerbate symptoms, but too early to know for sure yet. You need a lot of data to be confident in the results.


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## Peanuts20 (15 Apr 2020)

I spoke to a colleague in Spain yesterday, just back at work after having it. He descibed it as a really bad flu for the first 2 weeks but it took a lot longer to get over after that period passed and really drained him. I guess like any virus it can depend on the host and the circumstances


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## Seagull (15 Apr 2020)

The true figures will only be known once they have a test that can pick up antibodies that indicate if you've had it. You might think you had hayfever, and it was actually a mild form of the virus.


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## odyssey06 (21 Apr 2020)

Interesting report that symptom profile may vary based on age of patient:
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland Professor Sean Kennelly (consultant in geriatric medicine at Tallaght University Hospital ) said the typical Covid-19 symptoms are far less common among the older population and just a third of these coronavirus patients will have a fever and cough. He added that around 25% of this population suffer gastrointestional symptoms - which has been very under reported.


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## Purple (22 Apr 2020)

This is an interesting German study where they tested 80% of the population of Gangelt  (12.5 thousand people) and found that the infection rate was in fact 15% of the population, much higher than currently diagnosed, and the death rate was therefore 0.35%, much lower than currently projected.
Basically we are only looking at the fatality rate amongst symptomatic people and 80% of people infected are asymptomatic.
It is very hard to compare this with an average Flu since the vaccine is usually reasonably effective and a large proportion of the at risk population is vaccinated so there is effectively a herd immunity amongst the groups most likely to be symptomatic and therefore most likely to spread it.


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## odyssey06 (22 Apr 2020)

Purple said:


> This is an interesting German study where they tested 80% of the population of Gangelt  (12.5 thousand people) and found that the infection rate was in fact 15% of the population, much higher than currently diagnosed, and the death rate was therefore 0.35%, much lower than currently projected.
> Basically we are only looking at the fatality rate amongst symptomatic people and *80% of people infected are asymptomatic.*
> It is very hard to compare this with an average Flu since the vaccine is usually reasonably effective and a large proportion of the at risk population is vaccinated so there is effectively a herd immunity amongst the groups most likely to be symptomatic and therefore most likely to spread it.



Interesting study, but I didn't see a reference in it to "80% of people infected are asymptomatic" ?

Also makes me wonder if how the death rates for previous outbreaks were established, without studies like this they have to be suspect.


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## Tintagel (22 Apr 2020)

Both myself and my wife had the flu just before Christmas. We had all the symptoms of Corona including loss of taste. It was probably the flu but I wouldn't mind being tested for antibodies just to be certain.


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## Purple (22 Apr 2020)

odyssey06 said:


> Interesting study, but I didn't see a reference in it to "80% of people infected are asymptomatic" ?


That was reported earlier.



odyssey06 said:


> Also makes me wonder if how the death rates for previous outbreaks were established, without studies like this they have to be suspect.


 Yep, but after the fact all the data can be gathered and examined and so better numbers can be extrapolated.


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