CORONA VIRUS
One
of the deadliest diseases to outbreak at the start of the new decade is the
Coronavirus. World health organization has issued a high alert all around the
world for protection and prevention against the disease.
What is Coronavirus?
A
coronavirus is a group of viruses that affect the upper and lower respiratory
tract, causing flu-like symptoms. This virus transferred from animals to
humans. In animals, many forms of the virus have not transferred to humans yet.
If we talk about human Coronavirus, many strains are not harmful, causing mild
disease, but some forms have proved to be severe to fatal. Coronavirus usually
accounts for mild upper respiratory tract symptoms, which can be treated with
OTC medicines. It is estimated that any person is infected by the Coronavirus
once in their lifetime.
Previously
two strains have shown to cause epidemic destruction. These include the
MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome- coronavirus) and SARS-CoV (Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome- coronavirus). The viruses were discovered in 2012
and 2003, respectively.
A
new type of ongoing coronavirus outbreak, temporarily named 2019-nCoV, in china
has been reported recently. Cases have been reported all across China and even North
America, Europe, Asia-pacific.
Spotlight on: NOVEL CORONAVRUS (n-CoV) 2019
According
to news, Chinese authorities had alerted WHO about several unidentified cases
of pneumonia in Hubei, China. All the present treatments and antiviral therapy
had failed to work, and the virus did not match any other known viral strains,
which raised immediate concerns.
On
7th January, Chinese researchers claimed the new virus to be a Coronavirus
strain. To date, 6061 cases have been reported, which includes each province of
China. The ongoing outbreak has caused 132 deaths until now.
Facts about Corona Virus:
- Coronavirus primarily affects warm-blooded
species, and it appears bats and birds are perfect hosts for virus origin and
replication. Although the new virus is believed to have originated from illegal
wildlife trading in a seafood market in Wuhan.
- Common symptoms of the
novel Coronavirus include dry cough, itchy nose, and fever. Severe cases have
shown pneumonia, kidney failure, and death.
- The new Coronavirus can
transmit from human to human through contact and air droplets formed via
breathing and coughing.
- The incubation period
(span of infection until the onset of signs and symptoms) is 2-10 days. It
remains unknown whether the virus transfers during its incubation or not.
Prevention of
Novel Corona Virus:
The new Coronavirus has shown to be resistant to the
available antibiotic and antiviral therapies. currently, there is no treatment
for the novel Coronavirus; therefore, health organizations, including WHO have
concentrated on following measures for the prevention of Coronavirus:
- Wash your hands, for atleast 20 seconds, with soap and water, and frequently use hand sanitizers, preferably alcohol-based.
- Cover your mouth and nose during sneezing and coughing, in public, and while associating with sick people.
- Avoid contact with people who show flu-like symptoms and also with travelers who have returned from China.
- Avoid traveling to China, especially the cities that are on red alert for Corona Virus.