2019-nCoV + Influenza A/B antigen tests provide reliable information about the pathogens with which a patient has been infected. This is because COVID-19 has many similarities to seasonal influenza. Both infections are similarly contagious and can lead to serious complications and death in those at risk. And yet, there is one key difference: because SARS-CoV-2 remains relatively new, most people do not yet have immunologic memory regarding this pathogen, and the disease is sometimes much more severe than seasonal influenza.
Both pathogens are transmitted by droplet infection. The incubation period for the corona virus is on average six days for influenza only two to three days. The symptoms of both virus infections are similar and sometimes even the same. Therefore, it makes sense to make an accurate diagnosis by a 2019-nCoV + influenza A/B antigen test. The most obvious difference between COVID-19 and influenza is the odor and taste disturbance, which has not been observed so far in seasonal influenza.
The main symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, aching limbs, and often loss of sense of smell and taste. Breathing problems and even pneumonia may occur. The main symptoms of seasonal influenza include a sudden onset of fever, often high, and a sudden feeling of being very ill with headache, muscle and joint pain. If the lungs are affected, a dry cough and sometimes shortness of breath occur. When infected with a flu virus, rhinitis is much more common than with COVID-19.
Whether a patient has COVID-19 or seasonal influenza can be reliably diagnosed by a 2019-nCoV + influenza A/B antigen test.