Experience with Covid-19

 


Prof. Obed I. Lungu
Prof Obed I. Lungu


Obed Lungu is a Professor of Soil Science at the University of Zambia where he earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences in 1975. He earned an MSc. in Soil Science from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK in 1977 and a Ph.D in 1983 from the University of California, Davis. He was born in 1949 at a farm in Zimbabwe where his parents worked as migrant workers from Zambia. He was raised at farms and village in Zambia. Lungu has dedicated his professional career to training and research on managing soil fertility. Among his contributions is breakthrough research that elaborated plant adaptation mechanisms to uptake of phosphorus from sparingly soluble sources. He is also recognized for his contribution to agronomic bio-fortification to mitigate selenium and zinc malnutrition. He believes in teamwork and collaborates widely with scientists across the Zambia, Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond as an investigator, consultant and reviewer.

Email: lunguoi@gmail.com



A Personal Experience with Covid-19 Positive Result

Zambia is currently undergoing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This wave which is attributed to the Delta variant of the virus is more deadly than the previous two. There is now practically no one in the community who does no know someone who has not been infected or affected. The uptake and acceptance of vaccinations against the virus have increased because of increased awareness and demand has outstripped the supply.

I had my experience with the disease during the second wave of the pandemic at the beginning of 2021. On Monday, 8th February, 2021 my PCR COVID-19 review test returned negative and the doctor communicated the result to me the next day on 9th February, 2021. This result came after a period of 22 days of being placed in home isolation and 27 days after testing positive to the virus. The dates are important, as I shall explain, the challenges we face in the fight against the pandemic.

Throughout this period I developed no obvious symptoms and I felt well and continue to be well. Glory be to the Lord our God for healing and sparing me from the dreaded symptoms of the disease. Many have not been so blessed, as they had to endure periods of hospitalization and still others have since succumbed to the disease.

I think that early diagnosis and appropriate early action are the key to better prospects for recovery from the disease. I decided to take the COVID test not because I felt unwell in any way. Rather, I was conscious of the wide prevalence of the disease in the community and I decided to act promptly at the slightest hint of exposure to infection. I decided to take the PCR test the very next day (13th January, 2021) after I learned that a couple that I sat on the same table with at a New Year's Day luncheon had tested positive and that one of them had even been hospitalized.

When I got the positive test result, I immediately informed my workmates at the office before proceeding into isolation at home. I also informed my family and all those that I routinely and physically mingle with including brethren at church. This was done in order to alert them of any possible infection from me.

There is a lot of stigma attached to this disease and unfortunately many patients are not coming out to share their positive COVID test status. I believe that this is one way that infections are spiraling out of control, thereby compromising the fight against the pandemic.

I have been encouraged by several brave and responsible individuals who have come out since I publicly shared my COVID positive status. The interaction has been very useful: we share information on how to manage the condition and tips on medication to manage any opportunistic lung infections. Above all, I received prayer support and loving care. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who are COVID-19 positive, are asymptomatic and are just up and about their duties, unknowingly spreading the virus.

Because I was asymptomatic, no prescription for medicine was given. The advice I was given was that I should isolate at home, eat a balanced diet, take plenty of hot fluids and monitor any development of symptoms such as chest pains, fever, dry cough and general body weakness. Not all home isolation centres are supervised by health officials because the personnel are simply overwhelmed as they are not enough.

Fearful of developing the dreaded symptoms of the disease, I did something unorthodox for prevention (pre-emptive self-treatment). With this disease, protecting the lungs and monitoring oxygen levels in the blood is critical. Although I was asymptomatic when I tested positive, I embarked on frequent steaming with Vicks (contains Eucalyptus oil) and this helped with breathing. The idea of this treatment is to keep the membranes of the air passages moist, preventing itching due to dryness of the throat, thereby mitigating a dry cough. Of course I took some antibiotics for protection against any opportunistic infections of the lungs. Vitamin C, zinc mineral supplement to boost the immune system and paracetamol for pain killer were part of the concoction of medicines that helped me to recover.

The delay in getting test results is compounding the problem and compromising the fight against the spread of the pandemic. The Antigen Rapid test is quick and convenient but the results seem to be less accurate than those from the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. There have been reports of some false COVID negative results. In two cases that I have personal experience with, an antigen negative result turned out positive according to the PCR test in the patients taken to hospital exhibiting symptoms of difficulty in breathing barely two days after taking the antigen rapid test. Of course the sample is too small to draw any conclusion on the efficacy of the Antigen Rapid Test. The point, though, is that there could be a risk that undetected COVID positive people are unknowingly mingling in the population.

It is generally believed that the PCR test is more accurate. However, the results, especially from public health institutions take long to come out. A nasal swab was taken from me on 13 January, 2021 and the results were only available on 19 January, 2021 (one week). In the meantime, I went about my duties normally, shopping, the bank, the barber etc. Can you imagine the risk I would have posed to the public if I were not responsible to strictly adhere to the public health guidelines which prescribe wearing a mask (covering both mouth and nose), frequent washing of hands, sanitizing and keeping social distance!

Private hospitals and laboratories conduct PCR tests that can be released within 24 hours. Tests cost between USD 25.00 to 100.00. These charges are out of reach for many people among us. Therefore, public laboratories are overwhelmed by demand for the PCR test, compounding the already long turn-around time for the analysis of samples.

Surveillance of the disease in the population is important, but merely taking the body temperature on the temple or hand is not a guarantee to detecting COVID-19 positive cases. I never developed a high temperature and I did not develop a fever ever. Every time I entered a supermarket and other public places my body temperature was measured. It was always normal (36.4 - 36.8oC) and I was waved clear to pass through the check-point! This is very scary. I was COVID positive!

Probable Symptoms before the Test-

On a hindsight, I think that I might have developed some mild symptoms of COVID but which I ignored. One week before I took the test (seven days into my supposed exposure to infection), I felt headache, some dull pain and the head feeling “heavy”. I took paracetamol painkiller at bedtime only for 2 days. Being a very busy week at work, I did not put my mind to the condition, attributing it to work-related stress.

I also had lower leg and neck muscular pain. There was also lower back /spinal joint pain for which I took some painkiller during one night. I frequently have muscle cramps and the lower back pain is related to worn discs in the spine, a condition I have been managing since 1995. I also have bad posture and I frequently get neck and back pains from sitting for too long. On these accounts I ignored these symptoms as being normal to my health.

I had a watery diarrhea for two days. Previous to the onset of the condition, I had eaten a lot of overripe mangoes. My stomach is very sensitive to bad food and I often develop diarrhea when I eat bad or very spicy food. I also ignored these symptoms as normal to my current condition.

During the same time I experienced pain and an unusual itch under the right foot. I wear insole extensions and so I also ignored the symptom as being caused by a worn out shoe extension which the particular one is. The itch was also on the left side of the neck as if from an insect sting and on the outer edge of the right palm along the index finger. This was unusual and found relief from hard rubbing and applying Dettol antiseptic fluid or rubbing Vicks on the spot.

I went through a phase of general body fatigue and malaise. This was especially pronounced after taking lunch. I felt a lack of energy for any physical activity. The period of these symptoms coincided with the busiest time at work and again I attributed the fatigue to work.

I also experienced a burning sensation when urinating, indicating some urinary tract infection. It felt better on a warm day when I drank a lot of water. The symptoms disappeared after a few days and without treatment.

Sudden bursts of energy and cold sweating occurred frequently but when I measured the body temperature during the occurrences, it was normal (36.4 – 36.8 oC). This condition I found strange and I suspected Malaria but I never got a test for the disease. There are plenty of mosquitoes during the rainy season.

One day after I started the treatment I woke up feeling a tightening of the chest and a sharp pain in the sternum area, especially when drawing-in air (inhaling). Steaming with Vicks (eucalyptus oil) provided relief and by the end of the day the sharp pain was reduced to a dull pain like a healing wound. This has since stopped and I can easily take deep breaths and even hold the breath for several minutes without coughing.

During the same time I experienced discomfort in the throat like something was stuck in my throat. The chest was like bloated with gas and I was failing to burp to let air out. This persisted for most of the day and this condition also disappeared.

Conclusions

I have written this text to share my experience and in the hope that someone will benefit. I can summarize the key lessons from my experience as follows:

  1. A negative COVID test result is and should not be a license to let off our guard against infection. You can be re-infected with the virus. There are many sources of infection and poor hygiene and dirty environments are perfect precursors to infection.

  2. Therefore, it is safer to adopt a lifestyle of being cautious as though one were infected, or else just assume that the other person is infected and so protect yourself against infection from them. I was not careless when I was infected. Taking the mask off to eat and engage in a conversation while eating at table was perhaps the occasion for my infection.

  3. The world is pinning its hope on a vaccine against the pandemic. Developing countries that have not invested in research capacity of their own are at the mercy of manipulation to secure the vaccines from those that develop it. Those multinational companies and countries are under no obligation to be benevolent towards us. The world is changing and politics are more at play. There are lessons to be learned by developing countries, that they should take research seriously and begin to invest in it.

  4. We do not yet know what exactly determines the varying recovery outcomes that have been observed among patients of COVID. The myth of one’s blood group type is making rounds on social media. I am blood group O+. My immune system may have been fully boosted because I have been on daily dietary mineral supplement intake of zinc and selenium for several years.

  5. We should not despair in the face of the pandemic. Plagues and pandemics have been part of human history and with each pandemic the Sovereign God has provided a solution and life has continued. With each pandemic He has healed some according to His pleasure and when it has pleased Him, He has taken the pandemic away as swiftly as He allowed it to come in. Even so with the COVID pandemic, let us still ourselves before Him and let Him be God.

  6. Finally, if we should have learned any lesson from this pandemic, it is this that our knowledge and wisdom are limited and that God has set boundaries of how far we can go in our own wisdom. Only God is the remedy for all illnesses this side of eternity and only God will take it away when the pandemic has served the purpose for which He sent it. To the Sovereign God be the glory. AMEN