KU Health System

Dr. Dana Hawkinson joins us to talk to us about his experience with the coronavirus as a medical professional.

C1 >> welcome dr. dana huckinson, you an infectious disease hospital.

What are you seeing and what kinds of symptoms are showing.

>> i had the opportunity to see quite a few patients but also talk to a lot that were at home and they did not need to seek medical care.

The symptoms vary widely.

Certainly we see fever very high fevers.

But also low fevers.

We see coughs, shortness of breath.

Lots of muscle aches and people overall have been malays and not feeling good.

There have been reports about people not feeling well.

Sticking to the main symptoms that have been reported and published on, we are definitely seeing those.

We know the virus affects young and old alike, are you beginning to understand why some patients get critically ill and others don't?

>> no.

That's a very good question.

We know about the published report about age being a factor and other comorbidity such as heart disease, lung disease, immunosuppression, those are obvious.

We were on a phone call today with a group of physicians in wuhan and tried to ask them that too, how do we know or project what patients are going to do well and what patients are not going to do well?

What patients are going to progress to severe disease.

Unfortunately, there's no good formula.

We can use the risk factors and have a higher probability than others that are more young or don't have the risk factors.

Severe disease for the most part is attacking and hitting older patients and those with co-morbidity.

We have seen younger patients can also be infected.

And affected just as much but maybe just not as much or high probability as some of the older patients.

>> okay.

That makes sense.

A lot of us are staying inside and quarantining.

Can you tell us what affect that's having on our country.

Encourage us to keep staying inside.

>> yeah.

So we have to be vigilant.

We have to try and stop to do spread and flatten the curve with you will.

This does cause severe disease ask can easily overwhelm our healthcare systems. it's difficult.

There are emotional, psychological changes that have to occur and are occurring as people stay home.

We have to re-structure our lives because we need to make the sacrifice now so that down the road we can get back to a life prior to this.

And be able to be out and have fun and be with our friends and our loved ones.

It is vitally important to continue social distancing, self quarantine, stay at home.

It's vitally important to practice good hand hygiene.

Not putting your hands in your face such as your eyes, nose and mouth.

Those are the most simple things we can do.

But also sometimes the most difficult.

So, if we can continue to be vigilant in doing those things, and adhere it on our public health guidance and everybody take their individual health responsibility and do those thing, we can really start to flatten the curve and hopefully stop the spread.

>> it can happen so quickly.

That's what we're all so confused about.

Just so quickly.

We're going to be thinking about you at your hospital and we support you.

We just wanted to thank you for all you >> >> thanks.