It was already sometimes difficult to distinguish bronchitis from Covid-19 disease. Symptoms caused by the Omicron variant further complicate the diagnosis. If certain symptoms linked to the original strain of the virus or to the Delta variant were quite specific, such as the loss of taste or smell, this is not the case with the Omicron variant.
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[EN VIDÉO] Are we protected against Covid by having been infected? A coronavirus infection induces an acquired immune response. But for how long is it effective against variants?
The disease at Covid-19 is linked to a virus, the SARS-CoV-2. Since its appearance in China at the end of 2019, the virus has already mutated several times. The majority variant at the moment in Europe is the variant Omicron, identified for the first time at the end of November 2021. Its symptoms are a little different from those of the original strain of the virus or the previous majority variant, the variant Delta. The symptoms of the Omicron variant can easily be confused with those of a bronchitis. Therefore, how to differentiate a SARS-CoV-2 infection from bronchitis?
What is bronchitis?
A bronchitis is a disease associated with inflammation of the bronchi. The bronchi are pipes leading theair since the trachea towards the lungs. Bronchitis is often preceded by a nasopharyngitis with a runny nose, and potentially a slight fever (no more than 38 or 38.5°). Two to three days later, nasopharyngitis can turn into bronchitis. A cough appears, dry at first then oily with sputum. If there is a fever, it remains reasonable. On the other hand, the patient may experience chills.
In 90% of cases, bronchitis is the consequence of a viral infection; it is caused by viruses circulating in fall and in winter. It only requires symptomatic treatment, with paracetamol. If viral bronchitis resolves spontaneously, the cough may persist for two or three weeks.
In 10% of cases, bronchitis can be caused by a bacterium and will therefore require a antibiotic treatment. The risk of poorly treated bacterial bronchitis is the complication in pneumonia, which remains an exceptional case.
How to differentiate the two diseases?
Covid-19 disease and bronchitis have commonalities such as cough. The latter is generally rather oily in the case of bronchitis while it is rather dry in the case of Covid. However, this difference is not enough to decide between the two diseases. Indeed, it is possible to have bronchitis with a dry cough as it is possible to have a Covid-19 with a wet cough!
Similarly, in both diseases, the patient may have a fever. It is classically rather moderate in the case of bronchitis, while it is rather high (above 38.5°) in the case of Covid-19. The presence of headaches can direct the diagnostic. Headaches are normally absent in bronchitis and frequent in Covid. In addition, a Covid-19 can be accompanied by digestive signs or cutaneous, which is not the case with isolated bronchitis.
Even if certain symptoms can help in the diagnosis, they do not make it possible to decide. A patient with bronchitis may have digestive signs at the same time (diarrhea, stomach aches, vomiting) if co-infected with a bronchitis virus and a gastroenteritis for example.
Therefore, in case of doubt, the only way to be sure is to make a PCR test or an antigen test at the pharmacy. What about vaccinated people? The rule is the same: you can be vaccinated and have a mild form of Covid-19 with a cough. Whether it is Covid or viral bronchitis, the treatment will be strictly identical: paracetamol. Nevertheless, it remains important to know whether you are positive for Covid-19 or not. Breaking the chains of disease transmission is an effective way to curb theepidemic and to prevent the virus from reaching the most vulnerable.
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