The new study has offered the clearest understanding of the coronavirus and its symptoms to date, with experts revealing another surprising finding.
There are currently over 8,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and doctors are trying to identify the causative agent of the disease. However, a new study has revealed the most recent information about the virus, including the most likely symptoms and another surprising find.
The latest study by Chinese scientists from the Ministry of Health, which examined 99 patients, showed that the main symptoms of the virus, dubbed 2019-nCoV, are fever and cough.
Symptoms also include shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches, and confusion. This is stated in a new study published in The Lancet.
The study also found that the average age of the patients was 55 years, and half of the people studied had a pre-existing chronic condition.
Perhaps the most surprising finding, however, is that the virus infects more men than women. The study indicates that 68 percent of people infected with the virus were men. Researchers are now investigating the cause. So far there is only a theory:
“The decreased susceptibility of women to viral infections may be associated with protection from the X chromosome and sex hormones, which play an important role in innate and adaptive immunity.”
Scientists who participated in the study said the main finding is that older men with pre-existing medical conditions are more likely to contract the virus.
Researchers at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in the United States have created a live map of the virus that allows you to track the spread in real time.
Using data from WHO and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the map shows where the virus has reached its maximum spread. The death toll at the time of writing the scientific article was 143 people.
A total of 8,235 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 171 deaths have been reported worldwide, according to the January 30 map.
