{"id":1714,"date":"2020-03-13T10:04:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T09:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthcareers.co\/?p=1714"},"modified":"2021-01-31T17:52:24","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T16:52:24","slug":"what-is-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthcareers.co\/what-is-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Coronavirus: A Comprehensive Overview of the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mankind hasn\u2019t faced such a large-scale epidemic recently. For some people, it\u2019s about fear of the uncertainty and the risk of death, whereas for others, it\u2019s just another conspiracy theory. The truth is that, if asked \u201cW<\/span>hat is Coronavirus<\/span>?\u201d not many can answer precisely at this moment.<\/span><\/p>\n One thing that we know for sure is that this outbreak is a test of solidarity. We have to act together scientifically, politically, financially, and medically to end this infection that does not respect borders or restrictions.<\/span><\/p>\n Research is an essential part of the fight against this common enemy. For this reason, here, we bring to the forefront the latest scientific facts on the natural history of the virus, <\/span>coronavirus transmission<\/span>, and diagnosis; epidemiological studies; clinical picture, infection prevention and control, research and development on candidate therapeutics and vaccines; and integration of social sciences into the outbreak response.<\/span><\/p>\n Coronaviruses belong to a large family of viruses responsible for diseases ranging from mild to more severe, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n The new coronavirus (nCoV-19) has emerged in China and has not been observed in humans until now.<\/span><\/p>\n And what\u2019s even more intriguing, the experts believe that the already identified coronaviruses might only be the <\/span>tip of the iceberg<\/b>. This means that more novel and potentially severe zoonotic diseases are expected to be revealed in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n Corona viruses<\/span> are <\/span>zoonoses<\/span><\/i>, which means they are transmitted from animals to humans. However, several known corona family members circulate only in animals.<\/span><\/p>\n Coronaviridae family is composed of <\/span>single-strand RNA viruses<\/span><\/a>, with genomes ranging from 26 to 32 kilobases in length. These viruses can infect several avian hosts and mammals, including bats, mice, dogs, and cats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Due to the high rate of mutations and recombination events, their virulence can improve over time. This diversity leads to better replication in human cells and a greater capacity to cause disease.<\/b><\/p>\n Furthermore, the first cases of laboratory-confirmed nCoV-19 disease (<\/span>COVID-19<\/span><\/a>) defined the primary pathogenetic mechanism of the virus \u2013 pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that require intensive care treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n NCoV-19 binds to the receptor protein called ACE2, common also for the other <\/span>SARS coronaviruses<\/span>. This receptor is found in the <\/span>human epithelia of the lung and small intestine<\/span>, which explains the leading symptoms of the disease. It also reveals the pathogenesis and treatment options for the disease <\/span>COVID-19<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>genetic analysis <\/span><\/a>indicates that nCoV-19 shares nucleotide sequences with SARS-CoV (94.4%), the two bat-derived SARS-like coronaviruses (88%), SARS-CoV (79%) and MERS-CoV (50%).<\/span><\/p>\n There are <\/span>four nCoV-19 types<\/span><\/a> such as <\/span>human coronavirus nl63<\/span>, <\/span>human coronavirus 229e<\/span>,<\/span> human coronavirus oc43<\/span>, and <\/span>human coronavirus hku1<\/span>, which may differ slightly in their clinical picture and the target group of patients.<\/span><\/p>\n Since February 28th, <\/span>more than 350 genome sequences<\/span><\/a> of CoVid-19 virus have been determined and publicly disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n In general, the virus genome detected in China resembles those currently studied in Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a recent <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>, genome sequences between the 29 strains detected in China, were in 99.9% similar to those found in Japan, USA, and Finland.<\/span><\/p>\n So far, the scientists determined that the virus has <\/span>natural origin<\/span><\/a>, and retains its evolutionary reproduction paths. In other words, it has not been chemically altered in any way. However, the coronavirus species is proven to be susceptible to <\/span>human-related mutations<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n So far, Spanish scientists detected <\/span>nine<\/span><\/a> mutations of the virus, while the ones in Brazil found sixteen differing genome variables.<\/span><\/p>\n At the end of 2019, The World Health Organization (WHO) identified the zoonotic coronavirus, tentatively labeled as 2019-nCoV, as the causative agent of the viral pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China. It is not yet known whether temperature changes during seasonal transitions may affect the spread of the virus, like they do for other infections, such as <\/span>influenza<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the infection continues to spread. One hundred million people have been restricted to the area around Wuhan, but the infection has spread to other countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the apparent ineffectiveness of the measures to stop this <\/span>human SARS coronavirus<\/span> from spreading, or at least to prevent the social and economic damage, repression continues to escalate.<\/span><\/p>\n Under the political pressure to \u201cshut down\u201d the virus, the Chinese government announced that employees in Hubei Province would go door to door, test people for fever, look for other <\/span>symptoms of virus<\/span> presence, and then send all potential quarantine cases to be tested for the virus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But even with ideal restriction and quarantine measures, the spread of the virus may have been inevitable.<\/b><\/p>\n Testing people who are already extremely ill is not a good strategy, given that those who feel well and do not show any <\/span>coronavirus disease symptoms<\/span> can spread the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n Italy, Iran, and South Korea are already among the countries reporting the rapidly increasing number of confirmed <\/span>COVID-19<\/span> infections. These countries are also attempting to implement the repression measures that have been proven ineffective. After all,<\/span> dealing with a pandemic will require opening borders, not closing them.<\/b><\/p>\n The new <\/span>coronavirus definition<\/span> states that it is an airborne respiratory virus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This means that the infection is spread by droplets containing the virus released into the air by the infected people during sneezing, coughing, and talking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coronavirus can also be transmitted by touching virus-infected surfaces and then touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, touching contaminated surfaces such as door handles, elevator knobs, stair railings, public transport pick-up points, and then your face, can lead to the infection. Since it is <\/span>not yet clear how long the virus can persist on the surfaces<\/b>, it is recommended to avoid touching them and to wash your hands frequently.<\/span><\/p>\n As far as we know, the concentration of aerosolized droplets is <\/span>much higher<\/span><\/a> in environments with high disease prevalence, such as hospitals and help centers.<\/span><\/p>\n The viral particles, when inhaled or even digested by another person, are the most probable <\/span>causes of coronavirus<\/span> infection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is essential to practice excellent hygiene by using masks, sneezing and coughing in the elbow\/sleeve fold, together with washing your hands frequently and disinfecting surfaces.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>use of alcoholic solutions<\/span><\/a> and bleach on the body cannot affect the virus that has already invaded the body. At the same time, these solutions can damage your skin, mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, nose) and your clothes, so it is not recommended to spray them on your body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Washing your hands before preparing and consuming food is another good preventative measure for the spread of the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n The question \u201c<\/span>is coronavirus contagious<\/span>\u201d can be answered with a resounding \u201cyes,\u201d beyond any doubt. Based on the sometimes lacking <\/span>coronavirus symptoms in humans<\/span>, even when infected, it is assumed that the nCoV-19 is characterized by relatively low pathogenicity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is increasing data about the biological and epidemiological features of the virus, but still, we do not have all the answers. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains a huge challenge because of these characteristics. Adapted to the human body, the virus dispersed over a brief amount of time across the planet. It is easy to apply the air-drop mechanism. Furthermore, the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 is due to the fact that COVID-19 exists in a mild form in around 85% of the infected people.<\/span><\/p>\n The transmissibility seems moderate to low as well \u2013 one person can infect 2-3 people. When the transmission rate drops below 1, we can talk about the control of the outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n The previous two epidemics concerning the representatives of the coronavirus family were more severe symptom-wise than the current outbreak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV infections exhausted people for hours, no asymptomatic cases were reported, and the mortality reached 40%. These patients were unable to go out, work, or travel around the country and worldwide. For this reason, the outbreaks were confined to regional epidemics and did not spread worldwide. To sum up, less than 1,000 people were killed by the SARS and MERS epidemics.<\/span><\/p>\n The new coronavirus is a beta coronavirus, and like the other <\/span>coronavirus types<\/span>, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, it has origins in bats. There is enough data available, suggesting that the recent outbreak with nCoV-19 has emerged from an animal reservoir.<\/span><\/p>\n It was noted that in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the origin of the outbreak, many affected people had visited seafood and live-animal markets, suggesting the initial animal-to-person spread. This was probably the first step in the evolution of the new coronavirus. Then, the infection started to spread from person to person, since most of the patients with <\/span>coronavirus disease symptoms<\/span> were not exposed to animal markets. This spread was reported outside Hubei and in countries outside China.<\/span><\/p>\n Subsequently, the community spread turns out to be the leading way of infection, meaning that some infected people don\u2019t know how or where they became exposed.<\/span><\/p>\n Although <\/span>COVID-19<\/span> has killed nearly three times as many people so far, <\/span>it is not as deadly as the previous coronaviruses or seasonal flu<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By affecting people slightly or asymptomatically (over 82% of cases), it allows them to move freely around the world, reaching even more people. It is assumed that the transfer of the virus from animals to humans was intended for the virus to be more widespread, and this does not include killing the human host.<\/span><\/p>\n What happens to our body when infected with nCoV-19 has not yet been fully explained. However, the typical biological behavior of other coronaviruses and how the immune system copes with them have been described.<\/span><\/p>\n The immune system is the first to get triggered. Considering the variability of these viruses, they can also <\/span>suppress the secretion of some interferons in the body<\/span><\/i>. These molecules are a part of the body\u2019s innate protection against microorganisms, especially viruses. In this way, viruses try to counteract and block the immune system.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, how the <\/span>human SARS coronavirus<\/span> infection will evolve depends on the person\u2019s immune response. Moreover, the outcome and recovery also depend on other factors such as the infected person\u2019s age, sex, and accompanying chronic diseases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So far, in older people with chronic diseases such as <\/span>diabetes<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>cardiovascular<\/span><\/a> disease, respiratory issues, cancer, and more, the immune system may not be able to cope with the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n The clinical course of the infection could also be unfavorable for some young and healthy people in whom the immune system overreacts and spills many immune molecules into the bloodstream. The uncontrolled immune response, or the so-called \u201ccytokine storm,\u201d causes systemic inflammation and damage to organs, which belongs to the severe <\/span>human Coronavirus symptoms<\/span>, usually leading to death. This may have caused the death of 34-year-old <\/span>Chinese doctor Li Wenliang<\/span><\/a>, who was the first to alarm the world about the new virus.<\/span><\/p>\n Interestingly, Chinese doctors have registered more than 200 cases of re-infection with the new coronavirus in Wuhan, which may be due to insufficient immunological memory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It seems that the nCoV-19 does not produce lasting immunity or, in some people, despite the resolve of the infection, the immune response has not been sufficiently effective.<\/span><\/p>\n Still, the anti-coronavirus antibodies are studied \u2013 are they protective, and what are the levels that wouldn\u2019t allow reinfection? Other factors that can influence immunity are immunodeficiencies, malnutrition (especially with proteins), immunosuppressive therapy, etc.<\/span><\/p>\nTop Coronavirus Outbreak Facts and Statistics<\/b><\/h2>\n
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The Biology and Genetics of <\/b>Human Coronavirus<\/b><\/h2>\n
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The New Evidence for <\/b>Coronavirus Mutations<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Epidemiological <\/b>Information About Coronavirus<\/b><\/h2>\n
Geographical Distribution<\/b><\/h3>\n
Spreading of the <\/b>Human SARS Coronavirus<\/b><\/h2>\n
How to Keep Safe?<\/b><\/h3>\n
Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak<\/b> History<\/b><\/h2>\n
Immunological and <\/b>Virulence Factors of SARS Coronavirus<\/b><\/h2>\n