3 ms·

In the state of India that I live in, at least three people have died in the hospital of very Covid-19-like symptoms, but they were not counted as Covid-19 deat

In the state of India that I live in, at least three people have died in the hospital of very Covid-19-like symptoms, but they were not counted as Covid-19 deaths. Two of double pneumonia, both with travel history, but their tests came up negative. They were both healthy until very recently. One had arrived from the US, where the chances of community-acquiring-pneumonia are low as I gather. One of cardiac arrest, but AFAIK she wasn't tested because she had no travel history.

danparsonson 6y ago
We shouldn't be including deaths in the Covid-19 total just because they involve similar symptoms. Lots of other problems cause pneumonia and cardiac arrest, and you said yourself that the pneumonia patients tested negative. Apparently healthy people die suddenly all the time, sadly.
- kranner 6y ago
  The RT-PCR test apparently has a very high false negative rate; I've read up to 30% or even 40%. Also, they had all the other symptoms as well including fever and shortness of breath. One arrived in India with respiratory distress. The other fell ill a week after visiting a Covid hotspot -- Mumbai -- which he managed to visit despite a travel ban because he was a hotshot politician.
  - ksk 6y ago
    Where did you read that? Was it a reputable source that cited peer-reviewed data? We use RT-PCR every single day at our company (vaccine development) and we couldn't do our jobs if it performed so abysmally. The RT-PCR is the gold standard when it comes to detection.
    - kranner 6y ago
      https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020200432 https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020200432 Sorry, I should have qualified that fully. I meant clinical sensitivity for RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 for samples drawn from throat swabs, specifically. I know that my local hospital is only taking throat swabs, not nasal swabs; and all the press photos I've seen for testing in India is of throat swabs.
      - ksk 6y ago
        Well, then that's not really the RT-PCR that's at fault, its the way the disease presents itself, that makes it difficult to find a reliable point of sampling. Although, I can see how in casual conversation one might say that the RT-PCR test isn't reliable.

danparsonson 6y ago

We shouldn't be including deaths in the Covid-19 total just because they involve similar symptoms. Lots of other problems cause pneumonia and cardiac arrest, and you said yourself that the pneumonia patients tested negative. Apparently healthy people die suddenly all the time, sadly.

kranner 6y ago
The RT-PCR test apparently has a very high false negative rate; I've read up to 30% or even 40%. Also, they had all the other symptoms as well including fever and shortness of breath. One arrived in India with respiratory distress. The other fell ill a week after visiting a Covid hotspot -- Mumbai -- which he managed to visit despite a travel ban because he was a hotshot politician.
- ksk 6y ago
  Where did you read that? Was it a reputable source that cited peer-reviewed data? We use RT-PCR every single day at our company (vaccine development) and we couldn't do our jobs if it performed so abysmally. The RT-PCR is the gold standard when it comes to detection.
  - kranner 6y ago
    https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020200432 https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020200432 Sorry, I should have qualified that fully. I meant clinical sensitivity for RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 for samples drawn from throat swabs, specifically. I know that my local hospital is only taking throat swabs, not nasal swabs; and all the press photos I've seen for testing in India is of throat swabs.
    - ksk 6y ago
      Well, then that's not really the RT-PCR that's at fault, its the way the disease presents itself, that makes it difficult to find a reliable point of sampling. Although, I can see how in casual conversation one might say that the RT-PCR test isn't reliable.