Epidemiological and clinical aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and world common experiences in treatment: Turkey experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak like SARS and MERS would have been thought to end in China. But it has not been envisaged, spread in Iran then Italy to continental Europe and spread to America in very prevalant and in a very short time. It was thought that looking to China from Turkey was very distant story for us. When it showed that the heavy influence on Italy, gave us the idea to be our next photograph. No matter how slow the World Health Organization behaved, the fact that it declared the disease as a pandemic during this period, increased the seriousness. COVID-19, after confirmation with the PCR test, the detection of spread in the lungs with radiological imaging chest tomography is also done. Commonly presented clinical findings were characterized by fever, cough, headache and muscle weakness. Some person recovered with mild symptoms of this disease contrary to the high level of contagiousness without symptoms of this disease sign both a good and a bad condition. It is very crucial to avoid contact, to protect personal distance, to wear a mask and to pay attention to hand hygiene to prevent disease transmission from human to human. It is important for those with suspected diseases to isolate themselves, to be quarantined and to be kept under the supervision of a doctor. The screening and observation of patients with whom they have been in contact with their families for the last three days is the best way to break the chain of contamination. Teams established to filiation are working hard in our country. The number of patient cases in Turkey as of May 22, 154.500. The number of death was 4.276, with 2.8% ratio. COVID-19 case numbers and mortality rates declined with the curfew of over 65-year old people and younger than 20s. With the drugs that were used in the treatment protocol as hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and supportive treatments, in Turkey, it is stated that the treatment was good. © 2020 Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency (RSNPHA).