COVID-19
Contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coronavirus disease 2019 or (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.[5] This virus is kind of like the older SARS virus.[6][7][8]
The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. (April 2024) |
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) | |
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Other names | COVID, (the) coronavirus |
COVID-19 symptoms | |
Pronunciation | |
Medical specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | Fever, cough, tiredness (fatigue), shortness of breath, vomiting, loss of taste or smell; sometimes without any symptoms[1][2] |
Complications | Pneumonia, viral sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, kidney failure, cytokine release syndrome, respiratory failure, pulmonary fibrosis, pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, chronic COVID syndrome |
Usual onset | 2-14 days (typically 5) from infection |
Duration | 5 days to 10+ months known |
Causes | SARS-CoV-2 |
Diagnostic method | rRT-PCR testing, CT scan, Rapid antigen test |
Prevention | Face coverings, quarantine, physical/social distancing, ventilation, hand washing,[3] vaccination[4] |
Treatment | Symptomatic and supportive |
Frequency | 775,673,955 confirmed cases |
Deaths | 7,053,524 |
The virus, SARS-CoV-2, is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] People who get the infectious disease, COVID-19, may get a fever or a dry cough. They might get fatigued, which is being very tired. People might lose their taste, smell, and a way to breathe. They might get sore throat or runny nose, and they might sneeze.[11][12][13][9] COVID-19 can kill people. COVID-19 has killed more than six million people around the world.[14] Some infected people are asymptomatic, which means that they can make others sick, without looking sick.
5 to 50 percent of people who get the disease, COVID-19, will get Long COVID.[15]
The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, goes from one person to another by droplets. It can also go from one person to another by small airborne particles. Droplets and particles are made when a person breathes, sneezes, or talks.[16][17][18][19]