Coronavirus: What is Coronavirus, Symptoms and Official Name - iLearnHuman

⦿	What is Coronavirus
⦿	Coronavirus Official Name
⦿	All About Coronavirus
⦿	Symptoms of Coronavirus
⦿	Coronavirus Prevention
⦿	Coronavirus Treatment
⦿	Types of Human Coronaviruses

What is Coronavirus

This is an outbreak of disease that started in 'Wuhan', one of the central Chinese cities. it's caused by a novel. The coronavirus that means; it's brand-new so new that actually, it doesn't have a name yet. It's from a family called the coronaviruses.

It seems quite mild in lots of people and probably those people don't end up in the hospital at all. We only know about the more severe cases which are where people have gone on to develop viral pneumonia and those people end up in the hospital and all the deaths have been amongst those people.

‣ This brand new coronavirus came from animals and it's believed that the source was actually a seafood market in Wuhan which also sells wild animals so far. As far as we know all the cases have come out of Wuhan so some of these people are in places like Thailand and Japan, but they haven't picked it up there, they actually got it in Wuhan and then they traveled in China where the most cases are it's older people who are ending up in hospital.

There are usually over 40 and the very youngest person diagnosed is about 13 or 14 years old, so it doesn't appear to be affecting small children and those who have died tend actually to have underlying conditions. They may have heart disease or cancer already so they're vulnerable their immune systems are not very robust and they're going to find it very hard to fight off a virus.

• Name - Wuhan Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) 2019
• Official Name - COVID-19

All About Coronavirus

You’ve likely heard about the coronavirus from Wuhan or 2019-nCoV which is the cause of an outbreak that seems to have begun at the marketplace with live animals in Wuhan on 12 December 2019 and has since spread around the world and has affected thousands of people.

‣ First thing there are lots of different types of coronaviruses - some mainly affect humans, whereas others mainly affect other animals like bats and camels and these animal species are called viral reservoirs. The coronaviruses that normally circulate among humans are typically benign, and these cause about a quarter of all common cold diseases. But occasionally, coronaviruses that usually circulate in an animal reservoir mutate just enough to where they’re able to start infecting and causing disease in humans - if they’ regiven an opportunity.

‣ When one of these animal viruses infects a human population, there’s usually no immunity among the human population since it’s considered a new or novel coronavirus, so the virus can spread quickly and cause serious disease. Remember SARS, back in 2002, that was a coronavirus that hopped over from bats to civets, which is a cat-like mammal; and then over to humans.

‣ And in 2012, there was MERS, which was a coronavirus that hopped over from bats to camels a few decades ago and then circulated among camels for quite some time before infecting humans. So what’s the likely source of the Wuhan coronavirus? Well, it seems like it also ultimately came from bats.

‣ Now, the way this happens is that initially a sick animal, let’s say a sick bat, sheds the virus in their urine and poop, and that can get aerosolized and inhaled by a person making them sick. After that initial person or group of people get infected, these infected people might sneeze or cough allowing the virus to get into the air and infect others they come in contact with like family members if they stay home sick, or healthcare workers and other patients if they go to the clinic or at the hospital. That sort of transmission is called the person to person spread.

‣ Viruses are given a re-productive number or R-naught based on how quickly they increased. An R naught of 1 means that an infected body passes it on to 1 new person, an R-naught of 2 means that 1 person spreads it to 2 new people, and so forth. If the R naught is below 1, the infection peters out.
If it’s 1 it stays constant, and if it’s above 1 that then it continues to spread. Things like an immunized population and aggressive isolation of sick patients can help drive down the R-naught. Early calculations in China are that the Wuhan coronavirus scores an R naught around 2.5- that’s faster than doubling, and the affected areas have been locked down in various ways to help drive down the transmission. 

‣ Its also really important to point out that even though there have been individuals with the disease in countries around the world, the person-to-person spread has mainly been seen in China, and most cases outside of China were individuals who initially got the illness in China and then traveled outside and developed symptoms.

‣ Now, let’s say that you’re somehow exposed to a carrier and that you catch the virus. If that happens, the incubation period - the time between the initial infection and the onset of symptoms - seems to be roughly 3to 6 days based on early data, And when symptoms do begin, they usually include a fever, cough, & shortness of breath. The diagnosis can be confirmed using DNA tests. 

‣ While most coronaviruses are relatively benign some cause serious problems. With SARS, 25% of patients required mechanical ventilation and 10% died. In MERS, over 50% of patients required mechanical ventilation and 36% died. So far, the good news with the coronavirus from Wuhan is that it appears that the severity is lower with a fatality rate of around 4% or even lower. And broad-spectrum antiviral drugs and vaccines are aggressively being researched to see if they can be used to help treat and prevent the disease. although no vaccines or medicine are available at the moment. So you may be wondering - besides sharing this article with friends and family - what else should be done?

‣ Well, for most people in the US, nothing different. Wash your hands and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth—this is the area known as your T-zone, because it's shaped like the letter T, and is a common entry point for viruses into the body. Also, don’t visit areas where the virus is common.

For now, that means avoiding China. Also fighting other viruses, like the flu, can weaken your lungs and make them more vulnerable to the Coronavirus Help protect your lungs by getting a flu shot. 

‣ For those in China, it’s a good idea to work from home as much as possible, avoid crowds, and if possible, avoid healthcare facilities unless you are sick. To recap, the Wuhan coronavirus seems to be less severe than what was seen with SARS and MERS, but it is still a potentially fatal infection, that seems to be quickly spreading person-to-person within China. To protect yourself, wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, and if you are in an area where the virus is common, try to avoid crowds and potential carriers.

Symptoms of Coronavirus

• Dry Cough 

• Fever

• Breathing Problems

Coronavirus Prevention

There are currently no vaccines available to protect you against coronavirus infection. 

Follow these steps to reduce symptoms-

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with dirty hands

• Avoid contact with people who are sick

• Wash your hands often with soap

Coronavirus Treatment

There are no specific treatments for illnesses caused by novel coronaviruses. Most people with common coronavirus illness will recover on their own. If your immune system is strong you can automatically recover.

You can do some things to relieve your symptoms-

• Stay home and rest

• Take fever medications

• Use a room humidifier

• Take a hot shower

• Drink plenty of liquids

Types of Human Coronaviruses

There are 4 main sub-groupings of coronaviruses, known as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s. The 7 coronaviruses that can infect Human:-

Common Human Coronaviruses

• 229E (Alpha Corona virus)

• NL63 (Alpha Corona virus)

• OC43 (Beta Corona virus)

• HKU1 (Beta Corona virus)

Other Human Coronaviruses

• MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)

• SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

• 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Related Posts