Community Chat

[JustJazzmom]

@grandma r  Being inside an enclosed area like a prison, nursing home or cruise ship can infect the occupants like wildfire, particularly if the person doing the infecting is asymptomatic (showing no symptoms, but carrying the virus).

[SilleeMee]

@tsavorite 

At this time there is no test for antibodies. The only test available right now detects viral genetic material, not antibodies against that viral genetic material.

If you test positive that doesn't mean you are ill. It just means you have the virus inside you.

[Porcelain]

@SilleeMeethat site doesn't say anything about a difference between the virus and the disease, just differences in severity of symptoms. Obviously the test detects the presence of the virus and the doctor makes the diagnosis. This is the info from the site. Since it is a government site, I believe it can be reproduced substantially without copyright infringement:

"There are laboratory tests that can identify the virus that causes COVID-19 in respiratory specimens. State and local public health departments have received tests from CDC while medical providers are getting tests developed by commercial manufacturers. All of these tests are Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR Diagnostic Panels, that can provide results in 4 to 6 hours.

Who should be tested

Not everyone needs to be tested for COVID-19. Here is some information that might help in making decisions about seeking care or testing.

• Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home.
• There is no treatment specifically approved for this virus.
• Testing results may be helpful to inform decision-making about who you come in contact with.

CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but decisions about testing are at the discretion of state and local health departments and/or individual clinicians.

• Clinicians should work with their state and local health departments to coordinate testing through public health laboratories, or work with clinical or commercial laboratories.

How to get tested

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and want to get tested, try calling your state or local health department or a medical provider. While supplies of these tests are increasing, it may still be difficult to find a place to get tested.

What to do after you are tested

• If you test positive for COVID-19, see If You Are Sick or Caring for Someone.
• If you test negative for COVID-19, you probably were not infected at the time your specimen was collected. However, that does not mean you will not get sick. It is possible that you were very early in your infection at the time of your specimen collection and that you could test positive later, or you could be exposed later and then develop illness. In other words, a negative test result does not rule out getting sick later.

CDC expects that widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur. In the coming months, most of the U.S. population will be exposed to this virus. You should continue to practice all the protective measures recommended to keep yourself and others free from illness. See How to Protect Yourself.

If you are very sick get medical attention immediately

If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include*:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion or inability to arouse
• Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning."

[NicksmomESQ]

I wouldn't wish this on anyone.That being said I can't sympathize with him.

[SilleeMee]

@Porcelain 

You can test positive for the virus but that doesn't mean you have a disease. It just means you have the virus inside you.

If you become ill, that is called COVID-19 and not everyone will come down with that just because they test positive. The CDC says:  

"ill from the virus that causes COVID-19" 

The data shown on the CDC site reports COVID-19 cases and that is different from the reported positive tests. That is the difference.

An analogy to this is HIV. If someone is HIV+ that doesn't not mean they have AIDS. The positive test indicates the presence of the HIV virus, not the disease (AIDS).

[Sushismom]

There is a difference between having the virus and actually having the disease (see WebMD). According to them, the virus is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This is the virus that causes COVID-19.

[SilleeMee]

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@Sushismom wrote:

There is a difference between having the virus and actually having the disease (see WebMD). According the them, the virus is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This is the virus that causes COVID-19.

---

@Sushismom 

Exactly! and thank you for saying that. I am losing my mind trying  to explain the difference.

[tsavorite]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

@tsavorite 

At this time there is no test for antibodies. The only test available right now detects viral genetic material, not antibodies against that viral genetic material.

If you test positive that doesn't mean you are ill. It just means you have the virus inside you.

---

I am thinking of it like EBV....I have this virus inside of me and at one time I was very sick with mono + strep throat.  But for me it does reactive and has in recent yrs making me very ill again.  I just don't get the infected spleen + strep throat when that happens like my 1st initial infection with it caused.

Maybe I am not following this correctly still but trying!  There is a Dr. Jacob Glanville who is presently working on a antibody injection for this...guess you get the injecting and within a very short time your body begins to produce antibodies to this virus.  It is going into trails soon...July in a interview I heard him say.

EDIT....I just read the other posts above and now I think I understand it LOL!

[suzyQ3]

---

@Porcelain wrote:

@SilleeMeethat site doesn't say anything about a difference between the virus and the disease, just differences in severity of symptoms. Obviously the test detects the presence of the virus and the doctor makes the diagnosis. This is the info from the site. Since it is a government site, I believe it can be reproduced substantially without copyright infringement:

"There are laboratory tests that can identify the virus that causes COVID-19 in respiratory specimens. State and local public health departments have received tests from CDC while medical providers are getting tests developed by commercial manufacturers. All of these tests are Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR Diagnostic Panels, that can provide results in 4 to 6 hours.

Who should be tested

Not everyone needs to be tested for COVID-19. Here is some information that might help in making decisions about seeking care or testing.

• Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home.
• There is no treatment specifically approved for this virus.
• Testing results may be helpful to inform decision-making about who you come in contact with.

CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but decisions about testing are at the discretion of state and local health departments and/or individual clinicians.

• Clinicians should work with their state and local health departments to coordinate testing through public health laboratories, or work with clinical or commercial laboratories.

How to get tested

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and want to get tested, try calling your state or local health department or a medical provider. While supplies of these tests are increasing, it may still be difficult to find a place to get tested.

What to do after you are tested

• If you test positive for COVID-19, see If You Are Sick or Caring for Someone.
• If you test negative for COVID-19, you probably were not infected at the time your specimen was collected. However, that does not mean you will not get sick. It is possible that you were very early in your infection at the time of your specimen collection and that you could test positive later, or you could be exposed later and then develop illness. In other words, a negative test result does not rule out getting sick later.

CDC expects that widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur. In the coming months, most of the U.S. population will be exposed to this virus. You should continue to practice all the protective measures recommended to keep yourself and others free from illness. See How to Protect Yourself.

If you are very sick get medical attention immediately

If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include*:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion or inability to arouse
• Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning."

---

@Porcelain, thank you for saving me a search. We really need to stay with as accurate info as we can get.

[suzyQ3]

@Sushismom, can you please link to the exact issue we're talking about because I checked the site and saw nothing other than the info we all already have.