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New evidence shows that COVID-19 may have been circulating in the Los Angeles area months before the first definitive cases in the U.S. were identified.
Electronic health records showed there was a significant increase in patients with coughs and acute respiratory failure at UCLA hospitals and clinics beginning in late December 2019. When compared with the same time period in each of the previous five years, the sudden spike in 2020 in patients with these symptoms increased by 50%.
Similarly, they saw a significant excess in the number of patients seen in emergency departments for reports of coughs and of patients hospitalized with acute respiratory failure during the same time period. The findings show the importance of analyzing electronic health records to monitor and quickly identify irregular changes in patient populations. Such research could help health authorities more effectively identify and control outbreaks like the current pandemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands worldwide and disrupted billions of lives.
Scientists did note that other factors could be at play for some of the unexpected increase, including respiratory illnesses due to vaping or excess cases due to flu.
Source: University of California September 10, 2020