Coronaviruses are a large family of virus that can infect birds and mammals, including humans, which cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as...
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most recently, a Novel Coronavirus triggered an outbreak in China in December 2019, sparking international concern.
Coronaviruses can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets that infect people when they breathe, cough or sneeze. Masks cannot prevent the Coronaviruses particles contained in these droplets, but simple precautions such as frequently washing hands, disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and objects, and avoiding touching the eyes, mouth & face can lower your risk of infection. The virus generally cannot survive for more than a few hours on surfaces area, but people can pick up a Coronavirus from a contaminated surface within a short period of time.
How does Coronavirus infection spread?
Coronavirus usually spread from an infected animal or person to others,
Through air by coughing and sneezing,
Close to a person who is infected, such as touching or shaking hands, and
The virus can also spread by touching an object or surface having coronavirus, which can enter your body.
Causes:
Coronavirus can cause respiratory diseases, ranging from mild to severe and even deadly. The symptoms usually start between 2 to 14 days after you get infected with the virus. Common signs of symptoms include respiratory illness like high fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In severe cases, an infection can cause pneumonia, SARS, kidney failure, and even death.
Symptoms:
In humans, Coronavirus typically causes respiratory diseases with mild to severe flu-like symptoms, but the exact symptoms vary depending on the type of Coronavirus and how serious the infection is.
The 4 common symptoms about Coronaviruses:
A runny nose,
Headache, cough,
Sore throat and
Fever according to the CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention).
In some people, including those with cardiopulmonary disease or a weakened immune system, viral infections can progress to more severe lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia or bronchitis.
In comparison, severe Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infections often progress to pneumonia. Another symptom of MERS includes fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, while SARS can cause fever, chills and body aches.
The Novel Coronavirus causes symptoms similar to those of other Coronavirus which is triggering runny nose, fever, cough, and difficulty breathing in most patients.
Diagnosis and treatment:
Doctors can test their patients for Coronavirus infections by analyzing respiratory specimens and serum isolated from their blood, according to the CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention). The CDC has developed an equivalent diagnostic test for the Novel Coronavirus, but its accuracy and specificity for the virus are still being verified. Once confirmed, diagnostic kits will be distributed to health care facilities.
Will the outbreak stop this summer?
Researchers are still learning about Coronavirus treatments and drugs, but we have some hope that warmer weather drops fewer cases, similar to the end of the spring season. But medical experts caution that it is too early to tell whether the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak will diminish this summer. Because it is a new virus in which people lack immunity, so it may still spread globally even in a warm month.
Note:
There are no available treatments & drugs for Coronavirus, according to the CDC yet, but you can protect yourself by cleaning your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water and maintain distance from the person who is coughing and sneezing. Those who infected with 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 water and staying home to rest. You can use similar regimens to relieve the symptoms of more severe Coronaviruses infections.
Several existing antiviral medications that are originally intended to treat Ebola & Malaria may show some efficacy against the Novel Coronavirus. These medications disable virus by interfering with their attempts to replicate in host cells. Another class of drugs, called "protease inhibitors," also shows promise against Coronavirus and helps to alert the immune system to viral invaders.
