Coronavirus Covid –19

By Aziza Awate

3/17/2020

(COVID-19)- is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the virus strain severe acute respiratory syndrome, this virus becoming a global pandemic affecting human health and creating great impact in the financial market.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the (CDC) believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus and some people who get the COVID-19 may experience only mild illness. However, the virus can also cause pneumonia, which may be severe.

According to the World Health Organization report the Corona viruses was first identified in the 1960s, but in reality, they don’t know where it came from.

The World Health Organization is working with an international network of statisticians & mathematical modelers to estimate key epidemiologic parameters of #COVID–19, such as the incubation period, case fatality ratio, and serial interval.

Websterwww.merriam-Webster Dictionary definesCoronavirus as – “Any of a family (Coronaviridae) of single-stranded RNA viruses that have a lipid envelope studded with club-shaped projections; thus, coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people”.

According to the World Health Organization report,these viruses have been responsible for several outbreaks around the world, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic of 2002-2003 and the Middle East and in South Korea in 2015 of the respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak. Most recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) triggered an outbreak in China in December 2019, sparking international concern.

Causes

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), all coronaviruses sport spiky projections on their outer surfaces that resemble the points of a crown, or “corona” in Latin. Seven known coronaviruses can infect humans, including the novel coronavirus identified in 2019.

According to the CDC, these human-borne coronaviruses “have presumably evolved to maximize spread amongst the population rather than pathogenicity” meaning the viruses may opt to maximize their spread rather than harm their human host. Coronaviruses can cause people to develop a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and fever, andfor people with cardiopulmonary disease or a weakened immune system, the viral infection can progress to a more severe lower-respiratory infection such as pneumonia or bronchitis.

Coronaviruses can be transmitted between humans through respiratory droplets that infected people expel when they breathe, cough or sneeze. A typical surgical mask cannot block out the viral particles contained in these droplets, but simple measures — such as washing your hands, disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and objects, and avoiding touching your face, eyes and mouth — can greatly lower your risk of infection.

Symptoms

In humans, coronaviruses typically cause a respiratory infection with mild to severe flu-like symptoms, but the exact symptoms vary depending on the type of coronavirus. The novel coronavirus causes symptoms similar to those of other coronaviruses, triggering fever, cough and difficulty breathing in most patients. Rarer symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting and a runny nose.

Diagnosis and treatment

According to a CDC news conference in January 2020, doctors can test their patients for coronavirus infections by analyzing respiratory specimens and serum isolated from their blood,

That said, for those who catch a common coronavirus usually recover on their own and can ease the process by taking pain and fever medications, using a humidifier, taking hot showers, drinking plenty of fluids and staying home to rest. Similar regimens are used to relieve the symptoms of more severe.

In summary

There are no available treatments for any human coronavirus, according to the CDC, although, the CDC and other world Scientists research groups around the world are now racing to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus and aim to have such a vaccine ready for clinical trials very soon. Until then universalprecaution is a must.