Cough, fever, chills – with a rapid decline on the way, symptoms alone will not be helpful in distinguishing Covid-19 from a similar-looking case of spread. This means that regular testing for both viruses will be crucial – even after some patients have already died.
Ir Hiroko Masuik / The New York Times
Refrigerated trucks are used as a temporary morgue in Manhattan in May.
That would be at least true in New York, where officials recently announced a ramp-up in post-mortem testing for coronavirus as well as the flu. Under the new regulation, deaths associated with respiratory illnesses that were not confirmed before death will be tested within 48 hours of both viruses, according to the new regulation.
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State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement last week that “these rules will ensure that we have the most accurate information on deaths as we continue to operate Covid-19 in preparation for the flu season.”
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Corpses in the care of deceased hospital patients and nursing home residents, as well as funeral directors or medical examiners, will be among those targeted for follow-up examination. If a local facility specialist cannot test yourself, they can ask the state to run a test for them at its public health laboratory.
Although the results of these tests will delay the way the deceased is treated, they can still help health officials detect the prevalence of both types of infections, as well as indicate to close contacts of the deceased whether they need to be quarantined.
Dr. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School pathologist. “People need to know who was sick around,” said Valerie Fitzug. “If one cannot be tested in life, why not be tested immediately after death?”
The clinical pathologist of Mt. Counties are encouraged to increase their testing readiness before the fall and winter, when seasonal viruses such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV thrive, said Mary Fowke, a pre-emptive regulator. Said Mary Fowke. Sinai Hospital in New York. In many parts of the country, coronavirus cases still linger every day – it will be more difficult to track when similar diseases mess up the picture.
“I think it’s important to prepare,” Dr. Fox said.
In the early days of the epidemic, New York, like other parts of the country, was struggling to contain the virus. Many of the illnesses became unpredictable, including the deaths of several thousand people, whose deaths were later reclassified as expected, but the Covid-1 cases were not confirmed.
Andrew M., deputy superintendent and special adviser to the New York State Department of Financial Services and a member of the government. “A lot has changed since spring,” said Gareth Rhodes of Cuomo’s virus response team. Since testing began in March, New York is now running about 100,000 coronavirus tests a day, with a positivity rate hovering around 1 percent or less. While hundreds are hospitalized across the state, daily deaths due to Covid-19 have averaged one figure since the end of August.
The new rules also stipulate that patients with flu symptoms or both patients with known exposure to coronavirus or flu virus should be tested for both pathogens. It makes it less likely that a case will be missed in the first place.
“We track casualties very closely,” Mr. Rhodes said. At this point, he added, New York’s coronavirus testing methods are very consistent in medical settings. “You can’t really become a hospital patient in New York right now without any testing,” he said.
This regulation does not apply to all deaths – only those suspected of being associated with a respiratory illness.
This means that the new rules of post-mortem testing will probably not, if any, change the number of coronavirus cases further. Wadsworth State Lab has not yet received a request to conduct a post-mortem test since the announcement last Sunday, Mr. Rhodes said.
However, regulation could be enforced, for example, when a death occurred on arrival at the hospital or immediately upon arrival, or a temporary lab shutdown was called for by emergency so that tests could not be performed immediately. Others die at home or outside the care of a hospital or nursing home, without easy access to tests.
A pathologist from the University of Southern California’s Cake School of Medicine, Dr. “These are made to catch anything that falls out of the cracks,” Rosemary Shea said.
A pathologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Erin Brooks said that even a thorough examination could have an effect on which institutions’ autopsies are performed in the offices of medical examiners. Someone whose cause of death can be confirmed by a positive test for coronavirus, for example, does not require further investigation.
A number of pathologists have noted that coronavirus testing for sick patients is about ubiquitous in medical settings in other states, while including flu, including post-mortem testing, that compound testing is not common and needs to be considered.
More laboratories will likely need to invest in tests that can detect multiple types of pathogens simultaneously. For example, a test run at Wadsworth has a so-called respiratory panel, made by a company called Biofire, which simultaneously searches for genetic material from more than 20 types of bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus and multiple types of flu. Virus.
Some experts have said that proactive measures such as constant physical distance and wearing a conscious mask soften the blow of this year’s flu season, as they seem to have done in the Southern Hemisphere.
“And it’s in our best interest to prepare for the worst,” said Dr. Fitzgerald. And hope for the best. “
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