3 ms·
Basically, yes - it's an upper respiratory infection. Indistinguishable from seasonal influenza or a cold, until symptoms are severe. There may be some slight
by koheripbal 7y ago
Basically, yes - it's an upper respiratory infection. Indistinguishable from seasonal influenza or a cold, until symptoms are severe.
There may be some slight differences, but even seasonal influenza and a cold frequently present differently.
- numpad0 7y agoIsn’t coronavirus itself a kind of common cold? I’ve heard that “the common cold” is actually a few completely different infections that isn’t worth strictly classifying for the most, and that coronavirus is one of them. If so, this is “a common cold” except maybe death rates are statistically higher.
- lubujackson 7y agoYes, coronavirus is a broad class of flus. SARS and MERS are both coronaviruses and there seems to be a lot of genetic similarity to SARS.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoThe flu is the influenza virus, period. The common cold is typically caused by a rhinovirus, but coronaviruses, adenoviruses, and influenza viruses can cause colds too.
- trevyn 7y agoBut note that “the influenza virus” is a term that includes many genetically distinct mutations.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoSure, and there are around 160 known types of rhinovirus, 50 adenovirus types, and now 7 known forms of human corona viruses. Flu refers to a specific family of RNA viruses, common cold is a much more broad term.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]