Pre Virus Illness

[jcretire77]

First off, please delete this thread if it has already been discussed.

Basically my DW who went to Washington DC in November had a rough couple of months afterward. Not feeling well, but never down with flu like symptoms. There are more articles that COVID-19 may have arrived in the states as early as September.

I did not have any issues during the same time period.

Curious though if others had more illnesses through the past winter.

 

[easysurfer]

I really can't tell. A few weeks ago, I had a sore throat and a mild fever for about a day. Fearing the worse, I was worrying that I was at death's door with COVID-19.

I can't say with any certainty if I had the virus in the past or not which is why I think an accurate and rolled out mass testing is required to really know the extent of the virus throughout the country.

 

[statsman]

Not so sure about September 2019, but I think it's a good likelihood of COVID-19 being in the US during November 2019. I would be curious to read any articles indicating it might have been before November.

 

[Rianne]

I have late in life allergies. They mimic a cold or even the flu. I now know my runny nose and scratchy throat, even tired feeling is most likely allergies.
I went in for Dr appt last year and put on a mask, they offer them at the entrance. I was sure I had the flu. Dr asked, why are you wearing a mask? The appt. was for something entirely different. I said I have the flu. He lifted my mask. looked down my throat, in my eyes, ears and nose and said, no you have allergies.

 

[sengsational]

The idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was in the US in the fall of 2019 seems pretty much impossible because, with the high transmission rate (exponential growth) staying under the radar would be impossible.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

DH and I have been kind of eyeballing each other about DFIL (his Dad). Hospitalized last summer after a trip to Outer Banks of NC. Not breathing well. Admitted via the ER. Double antibiotic resistant pneumonia. Respirator. THe whole works. Flat on his back long enough to have togo to rehab to learn how to walk again. Put us on East coast for almost 3 mos. Now honest facts: July was too early. If it was COVID we would have def had it no questions asked, as would all of his hospital staff and he was there long enough to have spread it to everyone and them develop it fully. I said that to say this, I think there is going to eb a lot of fingerpointing on who may have had "it" or not. But until we can get the antibody testing done, we wont know. I'd love to think I was already exposed, didn't notice when I had it, and am now blessedly immune. I would go out immediately and start volunteering my butt off knowing I couldn't catch it and couldn't give it to anyone else bc of that

 

[mystang52]

I had a whopper of a lung virus from May thru August. At the time, doctor said we could run tests to see which one, but regardless only "treatment" was to let it run its course. I know the timing isn't right, but I always wondered if just maybe it was COVID. Since I'm still around to talk about it, I guess not but it was a close call for a few weeks in that time period.

 

[jollystomper]

I did have a few days of what I thought was a bad cold right after the Super Bowl. I was not the flu - though I have not had it for 15 years, I remember what that is like. It basically sinus congestion/running, coughing, and chills for a couple of days. More tired but not what I would call fatigued, and no breathing issues. I remember most because a son and his family were coming in from overseas to stay with us and I did not want to be sick while they were here. It had mostly cleared up when they arrived but I kept some distance from them for a day just in case.

During their stay we did visit a lot of relatives on the east coast, and son and family returned overseas in early March, just before the wider travel restrictions. No one we were in contact with have come down with anything.

At the time I wasn't thinking COVID since it did not feel any different from colds I had in the past, and there were few cases in the U.S. and no cases on the east coast yet.

 

[W2R]

First off, please delete this thread if it has already been discussed.

Basically my DW who went to Washington DC in November had a rough couple of months afterward. Not feeling well, but never down with flu like symptoms. There are more articles that COVID-19 may have arrived in the states as early as September.

I did not have any issues during the same time period.

Curious though if others had more illnesses through the past winter.

I almost never get colds any more, perhaps due to 72 years of building up my immunity to colds? I dunno. For whatever reasons, I almost never get them any more.

But in December, I had "The Cold From H*ll" that lasted three weeks. Coughing, congested, and felt like I had been run over by a truck (but no feverish feeling). I was miserable and it seemed like it would NEVER go away.

I have been fine during January through now, except for occasional sinus/allergy issues but they are nothing like the cold I had in December.

 

[bigcmagor]

DW was down for a week with fever, dry cough and fatigue in January. Used teledoc, who told her it was not the flu and not bacterial, so no antibiotics. Suck it up and gut it out. I was sick after her with the dry cough and brutal headaches for ten days but no fever. We're looking forward to getting the antibody test as soon as it's available.

 

[easysurfer]

Someone in the extended family passed away in January, only in his twenties. Result of from sudden pneumonia then respiratory failure. Makes me wonder if that actually was from Covid-19. From what I've gathered. He flew home for the holidays. Got ill, then ICU an on respirator, then passed away.

 

[RAE]

Not so sure about September 2019, but I think it's a good likelihood of COVID-19 being in the US during November 2019. I would be curious to read any articles indicating it might have been before November.

I agree. Several of our friends in Florida got very sick with what I now believe was COVID-19 around early-mid January. Same symptoms - fever, cough, shortness of breath. At least one of these sick folks went to the doctor and was told he did not have the flu - probably just some other virus, and that he should just go home and rest and drink fluids. Here are a couple of articles I just read that would seem to support that it was probably here earlier than what we have been told:


https://www.ksbw.com/article/new-st...s-possible-herd-immunity-to-covid-19/32073873


https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/0...than-100k-coronavirus-cases-in-state-mit-lab/


https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/...cle_5519f633-8dd9-5300-9846-dadfb2268682.html

 

[Sunset]

Mid October 2019, we were on a flight from Vancouver to Chicago. I sat beside an obviously ill older woman.
A few days later I had a sore throat, dry cough, and was sick for weeks, it really lingered on even after I could walk around for a couple of weeks.

I really hope it was Covid-19, but I doubt it. I did isolate and not visit any older relatives, as they are quite old and I didn't want to give them anything.

 

[SecondCor521]

It's possible my son contracted it. I have no way of knowing at this point how likely it is that he did.

He's a college student and flew domestically BOI->SLC->TUL in January. He immediately got sick with what was diagnosed as bronchitis and walking pneumonia that put him basically out of commission for about three to four weeks of reasonably significant illness including bad cough and extreme fatigue, followed by a month or more of slow recuperation.

At some point it may make sense to have him take the antibody test.

 

[RAE]

Looks like people who think they may have had COVID-19 can now participate in a nationwide study to determine how many of the participants actually have the antibodies. The link is here:

NIH Begins Study to Quantify Undetected Cases of Coronavirus Infection | NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\

I'm considering participating. One big drawback for me, though, is that they won't let participants know for months what your test results were. And even then, you have to contact them to request that information. Seems like they could do better than that. I know they mostly want the data, but they should still make a better effort to inform participants what their results were, IMHO.

 

[Mark1]

The idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was in the US in the fall of 2019 seems pretty much impossible because, with the high transmission rate (exponential growth) staying under the radar would be impossible.

+1. Actually, I hope all of the suspected illnesses mentioned were COVID-19, as we would be well on way to Herd Immunity.

 

[Aerides]

The idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was in the US in the fall of 2019 seems pretty much impossible because, with the high transmission rate (exponential growth) staying under the radar would be impossible.

I agree, I think it's wishful thinking. My upper respiratory thing was 2 months ago, (came down 2/12 after a few days of coughing), and I'd love to think it was covid, and it was right after a big international group convention type thing, but I haven't seen any reports that the event created any sort of hot spot, and I didn't pass it on - only DH would have been a candidate as I stayed home until symptoms passed.

Still, I'll take an antibody test as soon as I can, because I have nothing to lose, but I think anything before late February was probably garden variety stuff for almost all of us.

 

[6miths]

The idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was in the US in the fall of 2019 seems pretty much impossible because, with the high transmission rate (exponential growth) staying under the radar would be impossible.

+1

And keep in mind that the majority of symptomatic people who are tested for COVID even now are negative and these are mostly true negatives. We co-exist with a crap load of viruses. Most cause no or relatively mild illnesses in most people. A few of the same viruses cause very nasty and sometimes fatal illnesses in other people. There was a nasty viral URI on the east coast in the fall of 2019. Not this coronavirus.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

German researchers conclude that only 6% of coronavirus infections have been diagnosed worldwide. https://www.dw.com/en/millions-of-coronavirus-infections-left-undetected-worldwide-study/a-53066134

 

[RAE]

+1. Actually, I hope all of the suspected illnesses mentioned were COVID-19, as we would be well on way to Herd Immunity.

That's actually what one of the articles I posted above is suggesting - that perhaps some parts of California are approaching herd immunity, because maybe the virus has been circulating there since sometime last Fall. Just speculation at this point, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility.




https://www.ksbw.com/article/new-stu...id-19/32073873

 

[gauss]

Looks like people who think they may have had COVID-19 can now participate in a nationwide study to determine how many of the participants actually have the antibodies. The link is here:

NIH Begins Study to Quantify Undetected Cases of Coronavirus Infection | NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\

I'm considering participating. One big drawback for me, though, is that they won't let participants know for months what your test results were. And even then, you have to contact them to request that information. Seems like they could do better than that. I know they mostly want the data, but they should still make a better effort to inform participants what their results were, IMHO.

Thanks! I contacted them to signup.

 

[aiken]

Hard to say. It could have been an early, slow spread of the virus. Since so many people die of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, it's possible it could have remained hidden early. The fact it's apparently easy to catch argues against that theory. But it is relatively mild in the vast majority of people, so I suppose it's possible.

 

[MRG]

I felt almost ill for a couple days in February but didn't get sick. DW is ill now with a common cold, I'm trying to catch it or fight it off. Time will tell who wins, me or the virus. In any case that's a little disappointing given the only outside exposure is me getting groceries once a week with mask and gloves.

 

[CardsFan]

German researchers conclude that only 6% of coronavirus infections have been diagnosed worldwide. https://www.dw.com/en/millions-of-coronavirus-infections-left-undetected-worldwide-study/a-53066134

Seriously? Concluded?

From the article:

They claimed that the true total number of people infected with coronavirus may already have reached some tens of millions of people worldwide.

So, they CLAIM. Big difference. We need to wait for DATA, not someone looking for click bait.

 

[Montecfo]

When I returned from travels early March, DW who is in education was very sick and missed school. She has to be very sick for that. She never returned since they closed school. I promptly got it and had extended cold/sinus type illness. DW went to doctor and recovered after a couple of rounds of meds. I actually got better before she did but was more than typical cold.

I am hoping we have both had it now!