A new virus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in 2019 and is killing about one in every 100 people it infects. The UK urgently needs to answer basic questions about COVID-19 to control the outbreak and treat patients: how long people stay infectious, what puts someone at high risk of severe illness, how best to diagnose the disease, which drugs help or harm, whether the immune system sometimes makes things worse, and what other infections occur alongside it. The ISARIC-4C team has spent eight years preparing for exactly this kind of outbreak and is already collecting data and samples from UK cases. This study will provide real-time information on how the disease progresses and the underlying biology that explains why some people become severely ill. The results will form the foundation for clinical trials of new treatments, helping doctors decide how to use interventions effectively. If successful, this work will directly change how hospitals manage COVID-19 patients and how public health officials slow the virus's spread—decisions that affect every infected person in the UK.
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In 2019 new virus emerged(SARS-CoV-2) that causes a disease termed COVID-19. This may be mild but can also be severe, leading to viral pneumonia; about one in 100 infected people are expected to die of it. There are many urgent questions that need answering to help control the outbreak and treat patients in the UK: • how long are people infectious, and what body fluids are infectious? • what puts people at higher risk of severe illness? • what is the best way to diagnose the disease? • who should we treat early with drugs, and which drugs cause harm? • does the immune system in some patients do more harm than good? • what other infections(such as pneumonia or flu) happen at the same time? The UK needs a coordinated response to answer these questions as quickly as possible. Over the last 8 years we have been preparing for such a major outbreak; our expert team is ready to immediately deploy and has already started collecting data and samples from UK cases. The ISARIC-4C study will provide a foundation for other studies, such as clinical trials of new treatments, to help better understand the best way to use interventions. We will provide real-time information about the course of COVID-19 while studying and the underlying biology that explains illness severity with the goal of controlling spread and better treating those who contract it.
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