Six species of coronavirus are known to cause infections in human, including α 229E, NL63, β OC43, HKU1, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-COV). SARS-COV and MERS-COV can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome and have mortality rates of 10% and 37%, respectively [11–12]. The outbreak that started in Wuhan was caused by a novel coronavirus [13]. Gene sequencing showed that the novel coronavirus is 79.5% homologous to SARS-COV. It is a betacoronavirus and is the seventh known coronavirus that can infect humans. It is highly homologous to bat coronavirus (> 85%), suggesting that wild animals such as bats may be the natural host of this novel coronavirus [14].
This study showed that almost all of the COVID-19 patients treated in Wuhu, Maanshan, and Chizhou had an history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The patients were from Wuhan or had had direct contact with confirmed patients who had recently returned from Wuhan. Only one patient developed symptoms after contact with an asymptomatic individual who had recently returned from Wuhan. Two patients had each infected five other individuals in the same village with whom they had close contact, resulting in clusters of cases. Moreover, there were two mother-child pairs in the COVID-19 group. The data indicate significant local clusters of cases. A history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is very important for the diagnosis of local COVID-19 cases. Most H1N1 patients were sporadic, except four patients who had untreated family members with similar symptoms. A detailed history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is very important for the early differential diagnosis of COVID-19 and H1N1.
In both groups, there were more men than women, although the difference in sex composition did not reach statistical significance. The COVID-19 patients were aged 14 to 85 years (mean: 43.48 ± 17.82 years), and the H1N1 patients were aged 21 months to 83 years (mean: 19.79 ± 23.88 years), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). H1N1 was more prevalent than COVID-19 in children, and 19 H1N1 patients were under 14 years of age. These data indicate that COVID-19 is more common among middle-aged men; H1N1 infects younger populations and is more common in children. The incubation period was 11.12 ± 7.4 days for COVID-19, which was significantly longer than that for H1N1 (3.67 ± 0.82 days, P = 0.002). In both groups, common clinical symptoms were fever, cough, fatigue, some white sputum, stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, and, rarely, diarrhoea. Myalgia was significantly more common in H1N1 than in COVID-19. H1N1 was characterized by an acute onset, high fever, and rapid progression (time from onset to severe status: 5.25 ± 2.36 days). COVID-19 was characterized by a low or intermediate fever (or no fever, in some cases) and a significantly slower progression (13.60 ± 5.64 days). All four severe cases of H1N1 were related to a secondary bacterial infection. For severe cases, WBC, neutrophils, LDH, CPR, and PCT were significantly higher in the H1N1 group than in the COVID-19 group. Sputum culture was positive for S. aureus in one H1N1 patient. H1N1 infection can cause respiratory epithelial injury, making it easier for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) to take hold and cause a secondary bacterial infection [15–17]. Five severe cases of COVID-19 were considered related to disease progression because PCT and WBC had been normal. DD was 1.43 ± 1.19 µg/mL in the COVID-19 group, which was higher than that in the H1N1 group (0.88 ± 0.32 µg/mL, P = 0.013). This finding may be related to COVID-19-associated coagulation abnormalities [17–18]. Among the nine patients with severe COVID-19 or H1N1, five had underlying disease, which was an important cause of disease progression [19–20]. Five patients with severe COVID-19 received anti-viral therapy and high-flow oxygen therapy; all of these patients survived to discharge, with no further progression (to severe status) or death. Two patients with severe H1N1 received antiviral and antibiotic therapy as well as mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure, and one of these patients received ECMO; finally, one patient survived to discharge, and the other died.
In the early stage of moderate disease, CT presented similar findings, such as single or multiple small, patchy GGOs, making it difficult to differentiate between COVID-19 and H1N1. Moreover, lesions may be missed on regular CT due to the small lesion size, indicating that HR-CT is required to improve the detection rate. In the late stage of moderate and severe disease, CT showed more specific characteristics, which may help to distinguish between COVID-19 and H1N1. CT presented primarily interstitial involvement in the COVID-19 group and interstitial and parenchymal involvement (especially parenchymal involvement) in the H1N1 group. Moreover, CT showed slightly higher-attenuation opacities in the H1N1 group than in the COVID-19 group [20–21].
This study shows that most local COVID-19 cases (outside Hubei) were imported cases that resulted from close contact with individuals who had recently returned from Hubei, sometimes family members, suggesting that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted by respiratory droplets or close contact. Therefore, the management of imported cases and individuals who have recently returned from Hubei plays a key role in the management of local COVID-19 outbreaks. This year, most H1N1 cases have been sporadic and differ from COVID-19 in the age of onset, rate of disease progression, fever grade, secondary infection rate, and the presence of myalgia. The combination of a history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, rapid antigen testing for the detection of H1N1, and chest imaging studies may help distinguish between COVID-19 and H1N1. For COVID-19, disease progression may be related to the cytokine cascade, which should be treated promptly. For H1N1, disease progression may be related to secondary bacterial infection, which should be managed with anti-infective therapy. The number of severe cases in this study sample was small. In the future, we will include more patients and analyse their epidemiological data, laboratory test results, and prognosis to further validate the results of this study.