A man who claims to be the first Chinese patient to successfully recover from coronavirus has described what it was like to be infected with the potentially deadly virus.
The 23-year-old - who has been referred to by his surname, Huang - explained how he initially went into a local hospital because he had a headache, dizziness and a lack of strength.
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While in hospital, it transpired that he was infected with the new strain of coronavirus, having been unable to recover from the symptoms following three days of medication.
Thankfully, Huang has been one of the lucky ones to recover, something that he puts down to his age.
He told Chinese news outlet Pear: "I recovered the fastest because I am young. I am only 23."
Huang lives in Wuhan, which is where the deadly virus originated.
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He also works in Hankou Train Station, which is situated about 1km (0.6m) west of Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market - believed to be the breeding ground of coronavirus, with the World Health Organisation reporting that the market was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.
Huang said he felt the first symptoms, which are similar to those of a cold, on 24 December, before his condition grew worse the next day.
Believing it was just a common illness, he took sick leave from work and eventually went to hospital for advice.
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Worried that he may have taken too much time off work, Huang decided to return to his job, but started to develop a fever on a bus to the train station.
He then returned to his local hospital for further examination, which was when he was found to have abnormal readings in his liver function tests, before going to Union Hospital for a second opinion.
Following fears he had pneumonia, medics reviewed his reports and found out that he worked not far from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, deciding in turn to transfer him to be quarantined at Jinyintan Hospital, where most coronavirus patients are being treated.
"I had fevers repeatedly from December 28 and January 2 and was treated in quarantine," he continued.
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"The medics did not expose a single inch of skin and were wrapped up firmly."
He also claimed: "I was the first to recover from a critical condition and leave the hospital."
According to CNN, the coronavirus death toll in China has risen to 17, with more than 500 people infected as the virus continues to spread throughout Asia and across the world.
The virus has been noted for to its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people back in 2002-2003.
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Gao Fu, director of the Chinese centre for disease control and prevention, explained in a report published by Rappler: "We already know that the disease originated from a market which conducted illegal transaction of wild animals.
"This might be the cause, so the disease could be on an animal, and then passed on from this animal to a human."
He added that it was clear 'this virus is adapting and mutating'.
Featured Image Credit: Pear Video
Topics: World News, News, coronavirus, China
