“Every time the virus enters our body it reproduces and with this increases the possibility of mutating,” said the expert Dr. Andrea Silva, academician of the Master of Science, Genetics mention of the Faculty of Sciences of the Universidad Austral de Chile ( UACH).
The foregoing, given the increase in cases of Covid-19 in Chile, after the Ministry of Health (Minsal) reported 6,201 new infections in its latest report, 5,305 of them with symptoms. The total number of patients in the active stage of the disease grew to 13,073.
Andrea Silva, who is also director of research and projects at the AUSTRAL-omics Core-Facility of the UACh Vice-Rector for Research, Development and Artistic Creation and researcher at the COVID-19 Genomics Ring Network project (C19-GenoNet), said that “It is necessary to maintain the use of masks in places with a large public, such as theaters, hospitals and public transport, both to avoid contagion of the SARS CoV-2 virus, but also to avoid infecting others when we already have the infection without symptoms or when we have been in contact with someone who has the virus.”
“Every time the virus enters our body, it is reproducing and with this the probability of mutating increases, therefore, some of these mutations can give it characteristics of a greater capacity for infection or cause more adverse symptoms. The use of a mask in places with crowds is relevant to avoid the probability of generating new variants of the virus, ”added Dr. Silva.
Given that we are in a time with an increase in allergies, the expert was consulted about the possible confusion of symptoms between COVID 19 and an allergic condition and ruled out that this may occur. “The pathology of coronavirus -in general terms- differs from allergies of the spring season, since the latter have well-defined effects such as red eyes, itchy nose and throat and those who suffer from allergies already know these symptoms,” she said. . At the same time, she called on those who have never had allergies and have strange symptoms to have a preventive exam.
“If a non-allergic person presents symptoms that seem suspicious, it is better that they consult and carry out a test to confirm or not whether it is COVID-19, and in the meantime, keep wearing a mask. On the other hand, if an allergic person detects an intensification of their symptoms or symptoms different from those that they normally present in an allergic state, it is also important that they consult and be screened for COVID-19, ”he said.
It is important to emphasize that we are very variable in the symptoms that people present against SARS-CoV-2 and it is necessary to prevent and make a timely diagnosis in order to quickly detect a possible contagion and not spread the virus. “There is still a social responsibility in taking care of ourselves and diagnosing ourselves,” Andrea Silva pointed out.
According to portfolio estimates, the pandemic recorded an upward variation of 52% in the last week and 9% in the 14-day comparison.
