Which is more worrying than the flu?

So far, the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has sickened more than 77,000 people and killed 2,600, with the disease and death toll concentrated in Chinese mainlandBut it's no big deal compared to the fluIn the United States alone, flu has sickened 26 million people, hospitalized 250,000 and killed 14,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)we've been studying seasonal influenza for decadesWe know a lot about the flu virus and its expectationsIn contrast, little is known about COVID-19 because it is so newThis means that COVID-19 is said to be highly uncertain in terms of the scope of transmission and the number of deaths"Despite the high incidence and mortality rates of influenza, it is certain that as we move into March and April, the number of flu cases will decrease," DrAnthony Fauci, director of theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a White House news conference on January 31We can also predict the range of mortality and hospitalization rates very accurately," Forsyth addedscientists are racing to find more information about COVID-19, and with the advent of new information, our understanding of viruses and the threat they pose may changeBased on what we know so far, here's how it compares to the flusymptoms and severity
seasonal influenza viruses (including influenza A and B) and COVID-19 are infectious viruses that cause respiratory diseasesaccording to the U.SCenters for Disease Control and Prevention,typical flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, runny nose or nasal congestion, fatigue, and sometimes even vomiting and diarrhea, according to the U.SCenters for Disease Control and PreventionFlu symptoms usually flare upMost people who get the flu will recover in less than two weeksBut in some people, the flu can cause complications, such as pneumoniaSo far this flu season, about 1 percent of Americans have had severe symptoms that are enough to cause hospitalization, similar to the rate of last season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionfor COVID-19, doctors are still trying to understand the full picture of the symptoms and severity of the diseaseIn a small viral study of 100 people, published in the Lancet on January 30, the most common symptoms were fever, cough and shortness of breathIn the study, only about 5 percent of patients reported sore throats and runny noses, while only 1-2 percent reported diarrhea, nausea and vomitingin a study considered to be the largest COVID-19 case to date, researchers at theChina's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed 44,672 confirmed cases in China between December 31, 2020 and February 11, 2020The number of mild cases was 80.9% (or 36,160), the number of severe cases was 13.8% (6,168), and the extremely severe was 4.7% (2,087)"Extremely severe patients showed symptoms such as respiratory failure, septicaemia shock, and/or multi-organ dysfunction/failure," the researchers wrote in a paper published in the Journal of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Preventionit is worth noting that because respiratory viruses cause similar symptoms, it is difficult to distinguish between different respiratory viruses based on symptoms alone, according to the WHOmortalityabout 0.05 percent of u.S flu deaths so far this flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coVID-19 death rates appear to be higher than those for influenza In a study published February 18 in the Journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found that Chinese mainland COVID-19 had a mortality rate of about 2.3 percent That's far higher than flu-related deaths in the U.S., which typically have a death rate of 0.1 percent, the New York Times reported Even so, the mortality rate for COVID-19 varies by location and age For example, in the outbreak zone of Hubei Province, the mortality rate reached 2.9 per cent In other provinces of China, the ratio is just 0.4 per cent In addition, older persons are the hardest hit The mortality rate for persons aged 80 and over rose to 14.8 per cent, the COVID-19 mortality rate was about 8 per cent among the 70-79 age group, 3.6 per cent in the 60-69 age group, 1.3 per cent in the age of 50 to 59, 0.4 per cent for those aged 40 to 49 and 0.2 per cent for those aged 10 to 39 None of the children aged 9 and under have died of the virus to date the spread of the virus the indicators we use to determine the extent of the virus transmission are called "basic regenerations" or R0 This is an estimate of the average number of people infected with the virus from a single infection, Life Sciences previously reported According to the New York Times, the R0 value for influenza is about 1.3 researchers are still trying to determine the R0 of COVID-19 A study published January 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) estimated that the r0 value of the new coronavirus was 2.2, meaning that each infected person had transmitted the virus to an average of 2.2 people In an article on January 22nd, "Quickly Analyzing the Epidemic and Its Trends," I estimated the R0 value of the new coronavirus at 4.0 it is important to note that R0 is not necessarily an unchanging number Estimates may vary by location, depending on how often people contact each other and efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, Life Sciences previously reported infection risk the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that, on average, about 8 percent of the U.S population will catch the flu during each flu season According to the centers for disease control and disease (CDC) in the , there are currently 29 coVID-19 cases in the United States Emerging viruses like this always raise public health concerns The agency said it was unclear how the virus was spreading in the United States Some people, such as health care workers, are at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 But for the general public in the United States, the immediate health risks from the virus are low outbreaks of the epidemic we would like to highlight that the annual outbreak of seasonal influenza should not be confused with pandemic influenza or with the new influenza virus (the spread of the virus strain) that causes the global outbreak According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 151,000 to 575,000 people died worldwide from the swine flu outbreak in 2009 There is currently no influenza outbreak since most cases occur in China, no outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared a global outbreak But on January 30th the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern" The statement was largely due to concerns that the virus could spread to countries with weaker health systems prevention unlike seasonal influenza, which requires a vaccine to prevent infection, and COVID-19, which does not have a vaccine overall, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following measures to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including coronaviruses and influenza viruses: 1 Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; 2 Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands; 3 Avoid close contact with sick people; 4 Stay at home when you are ill; 5 Clean and disinfect objects that are frequently touched