Any think they might have had this early in the year?

amandstu

I know there has been speculation as to how early this virus was circulating and apparently someone has tested positive for this in December in Paris(if I heard it right;was just reported recently)

I am asking since I have a slight suspicion I may have had it in Jan or Feb.

Both myself and my partner said at the time that it was a funny kind of a cold and she just told me that there wasn't a sore throat but it was further down .

Also it came back.

I don't remember my own symptoms very well except that, as I said I thought it was a strange one at the time .

Also I very rarely get anything like that.

Anyone else then have been wondering if they already got this thing ? (would be great to have actually had it)

ceadaoin.

Yes. Over Christmas I had what felt like the worst cold ever with bad cough and other symptoms such as upset stomach. It wasn't the flu. Even at the time I thought it was a very strange illness. Felt terrible for days then woke up one night and it was like a cloud had just lifted and I felt better, which I also thought was very weird. took a while to get over the tiredness.

Maybe just wishful thinking though

Happy4all

Myself and many I know had the worst flu ever just after Xmas. I seldom get a cold or flu but it wiped me out for a week.

Probably just a coincidence but would love to know if there is a test you can get to determine if you had it.

amandstu

Happy4all wrote: »

Myself and many I know had the worst flu ever just after Xmas. I seldom get a cold or flu but it wiped me out for a week.

Probably just a coincidence but would love to know if there is a test you can get to determine if you had it.

I think we will have to wait for public antibody tests to ascertain that.

Essential workers and on iiusly health workers should get priority for that,I'd say.

Anyone who is positive and recovered may be able to donate plasma...:

SEPT 23 1989

Very bad chest and fever for a few days before Christmas

She was here much earlier

threeball

Happy4all wrote: »

Myself and many I know had the worst flu ever just after Xmas. I seldom get a cold or flu but it wiped me out for a week.

Probably just a coincidence but would love to know if there is a test you can get to determine if you had it.

If that were true we'd have had thousands of cases by January and not the middle or April. There was a dose going round but it wasn't CV19

sterz

Yeah those symptoms never existed before this virus.

Quantum Erasure

a lot of people are thinking that... they'd be wrong though

road_high

Not me but family members had very Corona like symptoms Jan/Feb- anecdotal of course, but lots of people saying similar.

threeball

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Very bad chest and fever for a few days before Christmas

She was here much earlier

The RO is over 5. Let's just assume you were patient zero and have 5 in your family, that's 5 infections in a few days, they infect 25, they infect 125, they infect 625 and so on. So going by your dates we'd have over 1000 infections by new year and yet no deaths or presentation at hospitals til late March.

SEPT 23 1989

sterz wrote: »

Yeah those symptoms never existed before this virus.

As smokers we are well versed in chest related infections

This was very different

JoeA3

I had a brutal very persistent cough over the whole 2 weeks of Christmas. At the time, I just put it down as a typical head cold, that I'd get 1-2 times a year. It was pretty bad on this occasion though! I'm not convinced it was anything other than a normal head cold... being Christmas, I was in the company of many family / friends and I don't think I passed anything (much) onto anyone.

griffinlee

It's an interesting theory.
In Jan I travelled 3 weeks in succession for work to Barcelona, Boston and London.

I was unbelievably sick, no fever but a rough cough, bowels issues, pains in the head like never before. I visited the doctor 3 times, this was after not going in the previous 24months. I was explaining to the doctor like this is something I cannot get rid off and have never had this..
She sent me for chest xray to see if there was anything but nothing came up..

Put on penecillon and told to stay in bed.. It took a good 4-5 weeks to get rid of.

Still have no idea what it was..

Beasty

80%+ of those tested at this time (and earlier in the process it was a lot less than that) test negative

A lot of people are thinking they had this, I would guess they had a bug, but not this one. There are plenty of "Winter bugs" doing the rounds every year

Given the virulence of Covid-19, how may of you thinking you had it passed it on to others either in your household or elsewhere? Did any of your elderly relatives end up in intensive care? Of course another 50-80% are asymptomatic, so any of us could have had it.

If you visited the Wuhan area in December you may well have picked it up. I suspect not though as it was even limited in its spread in China back in December.

sterz

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

As smokers we are well versed in chest related infections

This was very different

You're well versed in baloney by the sounds of it.

banie01

French doctors are reporting a possible infection in Paris in late December.

This puts Covid-19 in circulation @1 month before France's 1st reported case on the 24th January.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/health/france-coronavirus-december-death-intl/index.html

Wibbs

In the majority of cases I would be pretty sure they didn't have covid19, but maybe in cases like yours..

griffinlee wrote: »

It's an interesting theory.
In Jan I travelled 3 weeks in succession for work to Barcelona, Boston and London.

I was unbelievably sick, no fever but a rough cough, bowels issues, pains in the head like never before. I visited the doctor 3 times, this was after not going in the previous 24months. I was explaining to the doctor like this is something I cannot get rid off and have never had this..
She sent me for chest xray to see if there was anything but nothing came up..

Put on penecillon and told to stay in bed.. It took a good 4-5 weeks to get rid of.

Still have no idea what it was..

Mainly the travel part. It's why I would personally be interested in taking an antibody test, because of me catching it from someone who was travelling in Europe over Christmas, who had already had the flu in early December(which I didn't come down with, though was exposed) and the particular set of symptoms involved(high fever, unproductive cough, no upper respiratory involvement, bad breathlessness, in them not me) and kids(his) that were barely affected by it or not at all.

If it came back as Covid I'd not be surprised, but if it came back as flu I'd not be surprised either. I'd be just curious.

Away With The Fairies

threeball wrote: »

If that were true we'd have had thousands of cases by January and not the middle or April. There was a dose going round but it wasn't CV19

Nobody was looking for the virus in January. If it was in France in December, it was probably everywhere in December.

Wibbs

Away With The Fairies wrote: »

Nobody was looking for the virus in January. If it was in France in December, it was probably everywhere in December.

I think T's point is that the death rate didn't suddenly start going nuts in the elderly, or hospital admissions for severe bilateral viral pneumonia went way up. In that case they'd not have to be looking for the virus, any sudden uptake of very specific symptoms and outcomes would have every doctor and nurse and administration going WTF?(actual medical term). I mean that's how they spotted the dose in the first place in Wuhan. Doctors started to go WTF? guys(still technical term, but in Mandarin) and spot a trend.

Away With The Fairies

I had a very sore chest after Christmas. I didn't have difficulty breathing but every time I took a breath, my chest hurt. And I didn't have a cold so I don't know what brought it on. Bit weird looking back at it now.

joebloggs32

There was a media story of last week that it's now emerged there was an ICU patient as early as mid February who had it.
Its most likely it began circulation here at the end of January or early February. At that stage it was only people who travelled who were being tested. However we now know asymptomatic people could have spread it without ever knowing they had it, so young adults probably returned from all over the wotld without thinking they caught it. They never would have even looked for tests but the virus was stealing a march on us silently.

On the positive side, when people talk of a second wave we will be much more prepared to better identify any surge in transmission occurring, and hopefully stop it before it ru s rampant again.

ednwireland

end of jan, had 24 hr sore throat, 2 days of a bit of fever 2+ weeks of a hacking cough and general feeling crap.

the weird thing was i never get colds/flu like that i fractured an eye socket which messed my sinuses many years ago so inevitably get massive sinus pain from any cold - that was the weirdest thing.

was it covid who the f**k knows but strangest thing ive had in a while never drunk as much dry cough benelyn.

wakka12

Flu symptoms are similar. Flu infects thousands of people in Ireland annually, and hospitalises hundreds here too. Any particular reason you think it was COVID back then as oppposed to much more likely situation you had flu?

gnf_ireland

Beasty wrote: »

80%+ of those tested at this time (and earlier in the process it was a lot less than that) test negative

A lot of people are thinking they had this, I would guess they had a bug, but not this one. There are plenty of "Winter bugs" doing the rounds every year

Given the virulence of Covid-19, how may of you thinking you had it passed it on to others either in your household or elsewhere? Did any of your elderly relatives end up in intensive care? Of course another 50-80% are asymptomatic, so any of us could have had it.

If you visited the Wuhan area in December you may well have picked it up. I suspect not though as it was even limited in its spread in China back in December.

Absolutely agree with this. 80% plus of people who are convinced they have it now test negative. We had 266 cases reported today - even with 5,000 tests, that's only 5% of those that were tested !!

The vast majority are suffering from some sort of winter bug/flu that goes around every year. I had the flu for the first time 2 years ago and it was crap. Floored me for a few days.

I wonder how the country and world will react to next winter season of colds and flu's and will ever place shut down again just because of the fear of this? Every office, university, shop and school in the country will go into meltdown most likely !!

gnf_ireland

ednwireland wrote: »

the weird thing was i never get colds/flu like that

This is something a lot of people say, and I am sure its the case. The difference is comparing a cold and a flu is like comparing a bicycle and an airplane. Yes, they are both modes of transport but that's where the similarities end.

A proper flu will knock you for six. I was over 40 before I got my first one, and when I got it I knew about it. Of course my reaction at the time was - I never had anything like it before.

smurgen

I had something that started new years and lasted for two weeks. Then I went back to work and had to leave and took me a further three weeks then to get better. It was a weird one, chest infection with bad sinus to start and lots of sweating. Then it moved to tonsils and migraines which I never had before. Went to my doctor and got antibiotics thinking it was just a chest infection. I had gotten the flu jab. Went back to the doctor because I was worried it wasn't clearing up and I was feeling vertigo and my ears were blocked, filled with fluid.
I realize this couldn't be Covid given the basic symptoms of Covid and the fact that there was no death rate spike at the start of the year but it is a big coincidence.I never had a sickness I couldn't shake off quick.

amandstu

gnf_ireland wrote: »

This is something a lot of people say, and I am sure its the case. The difference is comparing a cold and a flu is like comparing a bicycle and an airplane. Yes, they are both modes of transport but that's where the similarities end.

A proper flu will knock you for six. I was over 40 before I got my first one, and when I got it I knew about it. Of course my reaction at the time was - I never had anything like it before.

I think I may only have had proper flu like symptoms once in my life but I am not quite sure if "flu like symptoms" need to be what tells you it is the flu (as opposed to the common cold)

The reason I say this is that we hear that many cases of Coronavirus are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms only: why should this not also apply to the influenza?

Maybe I have had the flu many times but my symptoms were mild or unnoticed.I can't say.

CalamariFritti

I had a thing in December. First week in December dry cough from nowhere and under the weather. Then it went and came back for a couple of days around Christmas. If this was now I'd be convinced I have it.

Its all corona talk now so of course anyone who has anything thinks automatically corona. No cold is ever entirely the same anyway.

gnf_ireland

amandstu wrote: »

The reason I say this is that we hear that many cases of Coronavirus are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms only: why should this not also apply to the influenza?

Maybe I have had the flu many times but my symptoms were mild or unnoticed.I can't say.

Fair point here and one I accept.

If you remember the HSE booklet sent around - the differences between the flu and covid were minor, but a reasonable number between the cold and flu. The flu tends to kill a fair few people each year, whereas a cold rarely does.

But yes, there is no reason some people may only get mild flu symptoms

Wibbs

Up to a quarter of people who test positive for influenza show no symptoms. This group have been looked at before as "super spreaders" of the infection. Of the rest some get mild, feeling a bit rough symptoms,, at the other end some need medical attention even hospitalisation.

My dad never had the flu. Well as far as he was concerned. He clearly did as my mum came down with everything so he was exposed, but was asymptomatic. I've only had it the once, the Swine variety, but even there got over the worst of it over the course of a weekend and didn't need the bed. Well, if the dose I had in Jan was the flu then I've had it twice and again the worst was gone over three days. I don't get head colds too often, but given the choice between a bad head cold with sneezing and snotters and sinuses and the flus I've had, I'd take the flu.

That's how people can differ. I could say "meh the flu is feck all", but it would be nearly as inaccurate as people saying the usual "oh you'd know if you had the flu, you'd be half dead". Nearly as inaccurate as non or mild symptom flu people would be a minority.

I reckon I had it in February..

fits

I came down with a dose on January 20th exactly five days after a trip to UK. It was a persistent cough which lasted into March and it was freaking me out as the Coronavirus story got bigger and bigger. I was out of work for a week but could have been longer. I couldn’t get to sleep some nights with the coughing. Now I’m 99% sure it was a bog standard winter dose but I’d be interested nonetheless. No family members came down with it.

NIMAN

I woke up on 5th Dec with the most painful throat I ever had. Could hardly swallow and very inflamed. No other symptoms, just the throat.

I know this isn't one of the symptoms of Covid btw.

It lasted 6 weeks with the odd day when it wasn't as bad, but generally most mornings when I woke it was very painful, easing gradually as the day went on.

Trying to get a gp appt in the north (I kept my gp there ) is nigh on impossible so I never went to get it checked out.

I know of a handful of other work colleagues and friends who also reported very bad throats around that time.

The Bishop Basher

My 16 year old daughter was floored by a flu just after Christmas.

She couldn't get out of bed for 3 days.

We all had various symptoms of varying severity but it was far more severe then anything we've had in the house before.

That was until my wife caught a "flu" a few weeks ago which completely floored her and had her in bed for over a week.

She had all the Corona symptoms but tested negative so who knows.

the kelt

My 7 year old daughter ended up in A and E on St Stephens Night on a ventilator.

She developed a cough Christmas Eve which gradually got worse over Christmas Day to the extent we had to bring her to Caredoc on Christmas Night. She got access to a Nebuliser there but in reality she was no better on Stephens Day. so we ended up in A and E.

It took her a couple of days to get over it, the overnight on the ventilator done the job for her at the time followed by antibiotics.

The thing is my wife recorded her at her worst at home here so the doctor could hear her coughing and struggling to catch her breath and still has it on her phone.

There was a clip online of a Cocid patient coughing and struggling to catch their breath (as a warning for what to look out for weeks ago) and that patient sounds exactly the same as my Daughter, its uncanny.

My Daughter is asthmatic so we put it down to that at the time. I remember getting the prescription from the Chemist who remarked to me at the time that they had never seen anything this particular strain of flu and there was only one antibiotic which seemed to work on it which was flying out the door she remarked.

Funny thing is my father who is 78 lives with us and has been going around with a cough for years never got a touch of it

ednwireland

wakka12 wrote: »

Flu symptoms are similar. Flu infects thousands of people in Ireland annually, and hospitalises hundreds here too. Any particular reason you think it was COVID back then as oppposed to much more likely situation you had flu?

a lot of our office had the same thing,there is alot of travel through main uk airports in our office.

ive had proper flu twice i think in 30 years nothing like this dose

jimbobaloobob

Revisit of tests shows it was in France a month before confirmed case so who knows
https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0505/1136477-covid19-coronavirus-europe/

Mike3287

threeball wrote: »

The RO is over 5. Let's just assume you were patient zero and have 5 in your family, that's 5 infections in a few days, they infect 25, they infect 125, they infect 625 and so on. So going by your dates we'd have over 1000 infections by new year and yet no deaths or presentation at hospitals til late March.

Alot of things we don't about the virus and RO, so wouldn't be so sure on those type figures, they don't make any sense anyway, think about it.

If it was truly over 5 we would have been seeing crazy exponential growth from the onset, it would be ridiculous

Take the case in France that came up at the weekend, patient had it late December in France, he infected his family or they infected him, they went into work and carried on life as normal

Why didn't he infect 1000 by New Year and millions by January?

Also what I find funny is how people are so sure this virus wasn't in circulation everywhere by December/Jan?

How could it not be?

Virus started in Wuhan in late November we are told, possibly earlier with an RO of upto 5.

Wuhan went into lockdown late January and over 1.5million passengers fly out every month on average

What did the Virus do for those 60 days till cases appeared in western world?

I like this Wuhan place, I think i will hang out here for 60 days, I won't go anywhere for a while, no flying for me.

60 days later, i'm bored think I will go Italy/Spain etc, nice weather there.

Happy4all

threeball wrote: »

If that were true we'd have had thousands of cases by January and not the middle or April. There was a dose going round but it wasn't CV19

Surprised you can be so sure. I was in bed from 26 Dec and virtually self isolating until returning to work 7 Jan

I still have a bunch of undelivered Xmas pressies

Tropheus

I had the dose over Christmas. It was the worst cough I've had in many years. It took me about a month to fully shift it.

I then had another cough starting on St. Patrick's week. It wasn't as bad as Chrstmas, but lasted for 3 weeks before it fully went. Myself and my yougest son had it. Three other members in the household were fine.

I was in Beaumont hospital for the past few days (not Covid related). A couple of the nurses were telling me that most of the staff on the ward had it. The reason they know is that they are tested as soon as they displayed any symptoms given their job. They said that for most it was a persistent cough and that most of them didn't have a temperature. I think a high temperature as a symptom is being overplayed as many I've spoken to who tested positive didn't have one.

Happy4all

Tropheus wrote: »

I had the dose over Christmas. It was the worst cough I've had in many years. It took me about a month to fully shift it.

I then had another cough starting on St. Patrick's week. It wasn't as bad as Chrstmas, but lasted for 3 weeks before it fully went. Myself and my yougest son had it. Three other members in the household were fine.

I was in Beaumont hospital for the past few days (not Covid related). A couple of the nurses were telling me that most of the staff on the ward had it. The reason they know is that they are tested as soon as they displayed any symptoms given their job. They said that for most it was a persistent cough and that most of them didn't have a temperature. I think a high temperature as a symptom is being overplayed as many I've spoken to who tested positive didn't have one.

Did the staff in Beaumont indicate how long ago they had it?

Mike3287

Tropheus wrote: »

I had the dose over Christmas. It was the worst cough I've had in many years. It took me about a month to fully shift it.

I then had another cough starting on St. Patrick's week. It wasn't as bad as Chrstmas, but lasted for 3 weeks before it fully went. Myself and my yougest son had it. Three other members in the household were fine.

I was in Beaumont hospital for the past few days (not Covid related). A couple of the nurses were telling me that most of the staff on the ward had it. The reason they know is that they are tested as soon as they displayed any symptoms given their job. They said that for most it was a persistent cough and that most of them didn't have a temperature. I think a high temperature as a symptom is being overplayed as many I've spoken to who tested positive didn't have one.

They tested postive?

Antibodies?

odyssey06

Just saw this on The Journal and thought it was relevant here.

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said “it is very possible” that Covid-19 could have been in Ireland last year or in early January of this year. Speaking in the Dáil, he said future review of the data will give more detail.

https://www.thejournal.ie/leaders-questions-58-5093409-May2020/

Mike3287

odyssey06 wrote: »

Just saw this on The Journal and thought it was relevant here.

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said “it is very possible” that Covid-19 could have been in Ireland last year or in early January of this year. Speaking in the Dáil, he said future review of the data will give more detail.

https://www.thejournal.ie/leaders-questions-58-5093409-May2020/

Can't be possible

Epidemiologist on boards said hospitals would have been over run

lawrencesummers

I had to take a week of work in mid December last year with a terrible flu and cough, had a temp for about 6 days and a bad case of the runs for 3/4 days. I thought it was the food in Kaifeng, China. Our flight was delayed in Beijing for 7 hours and by the time I got back I had about two hours sleep in a day and a half but I’m starting to think it could have been something else

Tropheus

Happy4all wrote: »

Did the staff in Beaumont indicate how long ago they had it?

around 10 days.

Tropheus

Mike3287 wrote: »

They tested postive?

Antibodies?

Yes, they are tested routinely once they show any of the symptoms.

They are currently undertaking a study of anti-bodies and some staff that previously tested positive are volunteering.

All patients are tested regardless of symptoms. I was swabbed on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. and got the result (negative) at 2 p.m. the same day.

piplip87

I had the bad dose around Christmas although similar symptoms I very much doubt it was Corona.

If it was circulating since before Christmas surely we would have been overwhelmed with deaths.

Tropheus

Tropheus wrote: »

around 10 days.

Sorry, just reread your post (properly). This was between 4-6 weeks ago. They said they were slammed with people of sick. However, things are getting back to normal and their numbers of Covid admissions have fallen.

lawrencesummers

piplip87 wrote: »

I had the bad dose around Christmas although similar symptoms I very much doubt it was Corona.

If it was circulating since before Christmas surely we would have been overwhelmed with deaths.

Do you think the HSE were publishing deaths back then? and that the media was looking for that story?

Ohmeha

I think there's a possibility I could have had it. I came down with a sore throat on Feb 24th and my lungs/chest tightened immediately, I have mild asthma so that's common when I catch a cold however I had no sneezing and my sinuses were fine so it wasn't evident I had a common cold. These symptoms lasted for 4/5 days and I forced myself through work

I posted on boards the next morning about how on the DART there was a unusual noticeable amount of coughing and sneezing which I put down to the poor weather the previous week, there was no cases announced in Ireland until the following Saturday 29th but looking back I can't help but suspect it was on the DART as there was too many sick people on it that whole week

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=112638896&postcount=396