Covid-19, a disease commonly known as coronavirus, continues to expand worldwide and forces nations like France to impose confinement on its citizens. In this health crisis, many words or expressions from the medical world very often return to evoke different aspects of the disease. Here is our glossary to see more clearly in these terms.
Covid-19
It is the name of the disease that arrived from China at the end of 2019. "Covid-19" means, in English, "coronavirus disease" for "coronavirus disease". This name should not be confused with that of the virus: "SARS-CoV-2" or "SRAS-CoV-2", in French. The term coronavirus designates a family of viruses, the current of which is the latest discovery. This is why it is also called "new coronarivus".
Incubation period
It is the time between the day the person picks up the virus and the day the first symptoms appear. In the case of Covid-19, the incubation lasts "on average 5 days, with extremes of 2 to 12 days", informs the Institut Pasteur. If, at the end of this period, you have not contracted any symptoms, then you do not have to fear for your health. However, you must continue to comply with the confinement rules in force.
Asymptomatic (or paucisymptomatic)
It is the definition of a person who develops little or no symptoms of an illness. We then evoke a status of "healthy carrier". In the case of Covid-19, the Institut Pasteur explains that 30 to 60% of infected people are asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic. Even without symptoms, you can still spread the virus.
Respiratory failure
We speak of insufficiency when a respiratory system - like the lung or the thorax - does not function any more in a normal way: namely, to fulfill its mission of expulsion of carbon dioxide and capture of oxygen. One of the most serious symptoms of Covid-19 is respiratory failure. It can lead to hospitalization.
Respiratory support
In the event of insufficiency, a patient could be placed in respiratory assistance. He will then be helped by a mechanical or artificial ventilation device. This is the medical technique that the patients most affected by Covid-19 need. This allows them to get the best oxygen.
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Intubation
To set up respiratory assistance, it is necessary to go through the intubation stage. The patient sees a tube inserted into the trachea to provide artificial ventilation. The probe can only be placed by professionals.
Chloroquine
This medicine is an antiviral treatment, known so far to fight against malaria, also called malaria. But chloroquine, or its derivative hydroxychloroquine, is used in some cases against Covid-19. This treatment is notably defended by the French infectious disease specialist Didier Raoult. Any self-medication is more than advised: this medication, taken without the help of a professional, can cause heart problems.
VIDEO. What is chloroquine?
Remdesivir
On March 20, the World Health Organization listed remdesivir as "the only drug that you can think would be effective" against Covid-19. A drug used in the fight against the Ebola virus, it has even been recommended by the High Council for Public Health in France. Ritonavir, an anti-HIV drug, is also being studied.
Healing
Officially, a person "cured" of the Covid-19 is only after two new screening tests have been carried out. If they are negative, the patient is then considered "cured" and enters the official figures communicated. But, as with the number of people infected, the number of people healed is probably much higher because of the reduced number of tests carried out.
