Abstract

Aim: To assess the knowledge of medical students to differentiate between the features of Corona virus and Common cold Influenza virus. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical students (MBBS) from both private and public institutes across Punjab, Pakistan between 20th April 2020 to 1st June2020. This was done using a validated, structured online questionnaire which was based on WHO recommendations and facts, assessing knowledge of both Corona and Influenza. A total of 253 medical students were chosen after random sampling, who had completed the survey. Results: Median age was 22 years and a total of 56.5% participants were female and 43.5%male.Overall, more than 90% of the respondents correctly answered the questions related to COVID-19 and the knowledge score revealed that above 90% had good knowledge about Coronavirus.73.5% being aware of the virus type(RNA),95.7% knew the transmission route,86.6% were familiar with the incubation period and more than 90% acquainted with the symptoms of COVID-19. Knowledge level for Influenza was moderate with only 55.7% of the participants accurately answering related questions. Majority of the students used social media as source of information. Conclusion: The undergraduate medical students of Punjab showed good knowledge of COVID-19. However, there is a lack of comprehensive knowledge of Influenza Virus. Thus, there is an inadequate knowledge base to differentiate it from Corona virus. This is alarming in the light of the current pandemic and therefore there is a need for immediate action to improve learning for future doctors for becoming a better health provider. Keywords: Knowledge, medical students, Covid-19, Influenza