To think people may have already had coronavirus?

[minniebo]

I had pneumonia recently, pretty severe, hospitalised. Everyone I've told has said, 'it's weird how many people have said they've had pneumonia in the last month or two.' Yes I know it's the season for these things but it's a bit unusual that so many young and fit people have had pneumonia.

Just out of interest, has anyone you know had pneumonia in the last month or so (in the UK)?

I am sure that if covid19 had been in circulation around Christmas it would have been detected and of that there is not much doubt. It is one type of a family of similar mostly less harmful viruses.

Our best hope is to use better more effective movement control to limit the extent before the summer respite, speed up the vaccine and stay indoors. Or just let nature take its course.

My dcs travelled to China on holiday with their dad in late October/ early November. Actually flew into Wuhan, travelled in hubei province. Ds was quite unwell when he returned. Fluey symptoms, horrible persistent cough.
Recovered and back to school in 2-3 days.

Thought nothing much of it until all this - now wondering whether he had some early version. I didn't get it though and there were all manner of flu bugs around in the area anyway so it's difficult to know.

Can you test to see if it's something people have had, I wonder?

Name change for outing reasons

How would it have been detetected? At the very early stages of disease such as this there is a very clear lag. I think that has already happened. Before global awareness, the vast majority of people affected would have treated themselves at home and anyone with complications would have been treated as if they had complications from seasonal flu. It is only as the trajectory of the virus moves on that increasingly unusual patterns are seen and noticed.

I had a really horrible virus beginning of December and was coughing up mucous for two months - I can easily believe this would cause pneumonia. I’m currently recovering from a different flu. Sore throat followed by the usual flu like symptoms as pps have reported. I’ve ended up with a sinus infection but it never got to my lungs so I’m not sure that it would be likely to cause pneumonia. The one I had first though would definitely be a pneumonia risk.

If all these people with alleged undiagnosed coronavirus had been wandering around spreading it, we really would be in the grip of a full pandemic by now.

It's the season for various respiratory illnesses, FFS. Same as last year, same as next year. This thread is ridiculous.

Maybe
Me and all of my “mum friends” had the same, flu/virus type thing just before Christmas. It was worse than a cold, ie fluctuating between burning up and shivering, sore throat, hideous cough etc, but not enough to put us flat on our backs like full blown flu.
Every morning there would be the 4 of us, shuffling along with prams doing the school run looking like a band of grey corpses

I think there is some truth in what OP is saying. I usually get the odd cold which is inconvenient but nothing that would stop me in my tracks. Strangely I have had the same cough and other symptoms as described on here. I was ill in bed over new year with "man flu". That's unusual for me.

I also had “whooping cough” last summer when I was pregnant. Was coughing crap out of my lungs for best part of a month.
Still not convinced it was whooping cough.

DH sent to hospital in Dec with respiratory symptoms. A friend was hospitalised in Jan with pneumonia. I had respiratory virus for 3 weeks in late Dec. We live in home counties where lots of people travel for work. I also thought I wouldn't be surprised if we had already had it.

You could be right, OP. We’ve all had pretty bad coughs and cold like symptoms here within the past few weeks.

We all got a horrible flu just before Christmas. Kids recovered far quicker than me & DH. We were out of action for over a week, then had a lingering cough. Never been ill like that before.

I think it's entirely possible that some people have already had it and not known. I've posted on here before that my mum was talking to me in mid January being surprised that so many people she knew had "flu" despite having had the flu vaccine (she didn't get it though). We were wondering if the flu vaccine wasn't that effective this year. But perhaps it was CV 19? We'll never know unless they are tested and show antibodies and haven't been ill since.

My son and most of his college friends and athletics club friends were ill in January/early February with a dry cough. Again, how do you know what it was unless they are tested?

The number of cases has risen quite a lot today but that may well be down to increased testing and checking people with symptoms who would have put it down to a cold or flu a few weeks ago.

It's the season for various respiratory illnesses, FFS. Same as last year, same as next year. This thread is ridiculous

Disagree, it's a very valid point to make.

Coronavirus is a name given to a group of viruses that give cold/ flu like symptoms and can infect the upper respiratory tract.
There seems to have been one going around in Dec/ Jan but I doubt it was Covid 19 just a variation of a coronavirus.
Both DS and I had a nasty cough, fever and felt rotten, rest of the family seemed fine.

Of nearly 700 tests for Covid 19 carried out in Scotland none have been positive.
There may be testing kits sent out to some GPs to use on those presenting with flu like symptoms.

November this year, this household had one of the worst viruses we can remember in our adult lives in the UK (and one of us is a nurse). Respiratory issues like I don't remember ever having before, coughs, headaches for days on end beyond any migraine I ever had (and I used to get ferocious migraines), flu-like aches - the last time I was that ill I was working overseas in South East Asia teaching English.

We do, however, now have a whole cabinet full of just about any flu or cold medicine you care to mention, plus various diffusers and aromatherapy oils (don't scoff, some of them are VERY effective, though there's not much in the scientific literature out there, there is a little). Plus we reckon we'll be able to sell our collection of Dettol on the black market and retire somewhere warm if this all continues much longer...

I got pneumonia this autumn, so not in the last month, but it makes me think there's more than one nasty virus around this year. I'm a fit, healthy 36 year old, and don't often get sick. It was horrendous, which makes me worry about catching coronavirus as well.

Otherwise yes, I do think many more people have had coronavirus than we know about.

I don't think it's possible to tell, is it? We had a horrible bug with a really dry painful cough and a sore throat that took ages to go but it's not the first year I've had that sort of bug. I've not had anything that gave me shortness of breath, which is the symptom that seems to be more specifically coronavirus.

Dh and I had the horrible virus at christmas .my brothers mil who was with us went down shortly after with pneumonia ,my mum who was also with us was rushed into hospital 2 weeks ago with pneumonia

I picked up something at the end of November that made me virtually useless. Started with a sore throat and hearing loss, then the coughing started. That took two lots of antibiotics.

Just after Christmas I had the flu jab then I was floored for 3 days, I had fever of 40! I eventually got better mid January, I woke up one day just feeling better!

Maybe, I have been ill for 10 days. Bad flu initially and went to GP saying it feels a struggle to breathe, sent home. Improved for a couple of days and then developed chest problems, again felt like death. Given antibiotics and I have never had a breathing problem or chest infection before. Slowly getting better now but never had flu like it (and I have had lots of fly before!). Healthy 38 year old.

If antibiotics helped you didn’t have a virus....

I had the flu for 3/4 weeks in December. My DS had vomiting with a fever in January.
I think they were just random viruses and not covid19 but it would be more comforting to know we'd already had it and knew what to expect.

Yeah, I suspect we'd have known is corona virus was around at Christmas. It's quite hard to have a pandemic and not notice (see:Wuhan).

What is worrying though, is that the virus is mutating. There is a Japanese woman who recovered and then got it again

That doesn't necessarily mean it is mutating. It could be the woman's immune system doesn't work quite as it should. I have a friend that has had chickenpox five times, for that reason.

If most people were able to have corona virus more than once the numbers in Wuhan would keep climbing and climbing. That's not what has happened. A few unlucky souls may get it multiple times but there is no reason to.think the majority will.