Dr. Dung Trinh is here again to talk about something that is on everybody's mind, the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak. Some of you may remember Dr. Trinh from previous shows where he talked about clinical studies on cannabis and his medical missionary non-profit and his work around the world and in Vietnam. Dr. Trinh is a physician in Orange County. He immigrated to the US as a child and has never stopped learning or giving back. 

I’m happy to have him here today to answer questions about coronavirus or COVID -19 in this highly fluid situation. He shares what it actually is and what the main symptoms usually are. We also talk about theories about the spread, and he shares statistics from previous flu outbreaks which might be useful in trying to gauge the scale of this pandemic. We also talk about the stock market a bit. Everything is changing rapidly and all of the information we share is for educational purposes. 

You can find Dr. Dung Trinh here:

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Show Notes:

• [01:33] Dr. Trinh is a physician in Orange County. He also has a nonprofit called TongueOut. He takes doctors, students, and volunteers around the world to do medical missionary type work. 
• [01:52] Last year, they were in Vietnam twice and Haiti, Peru, and Oaxaca Mexico.
• [02:11] He was supposed to be in Vietnam this month, but the coronavirus threw a wrench in his plans. 
• [03:16] SARs and MERs were both a coronavirus. So is the common cold. COVID-19 usually lives in wild animals like bats and rats. It must have mutated to live in human hosts. 
• [05:03] There is an 85% correlation between coronavirus DNA in humans and bats. The mutations are probably in that 15% difference that allows it to infect humans.
• [05:34] The theory is that it came from a wild animal market in Wuhan. That's why people believe that it came from that market and mutated from bats.
• [06:24] There is also a biological weapon theory from a research facility in Wuhan. These are all just theories, but there is a level 4 lab in Wuhan.
• [07:34] Symptoms are similar to the flu. They include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The incubation period is from 2 days to 14 days.
• [08:42] You don't know you have coronavirus until you start having symptoms. This is why it's so hard to contain.
• [09:22] This is really hard to contain because of the 14-day incubation period.
• [09:53] Viral pneumonia can be caused by the coronavirus.
• [10:12] The flu virus has infected at least 30 something million Americans this year. Over a hundred thousand of those needed hospitalization. From that group there was up to 15 to 18 thousand deaths. People don't realize that the regular flu has killed that many people already.
• [12:11] There isn't a lot of sore throat with the coronavirus, but it's not black and white.
• [12:57] The death rate for the flu is one in 1,000. The death rate for coronavirus is much higher.
• [14:03] Older patients and patients with chronic health conditions are at the most risk.
• [15:17] It's spread by droplets from infected people and their hands. 
• [16:52] The scary part is that it's more contagious and spreading at a faster rate than the flu.
• [17:30] 80% affected only have a mild case and can be treated at home.
• [18:04] The big deal is that 20% will need hospitalization and 5% will need to be in ICU. Hospital bed shortages are an issue. 
• [20:41] The stock market is driven by fear. Dr. Trinh isn't optimistic for the short term if this breaks out in major cities.

Links and Resources:

Ask Loral App TongueOut Dr. Dung Trinh on LinkedIn Episode 150: Giving Back and Discovering Opportunity in Vietnam With Dr. Trihn