What is Coronavirus? History, symptoms and treatment of Coronavirus

Coronavirus is putting China and other countries on alert. So, what should we know and how worried should we be? First, it is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other Coronaviruses, it originates from animals. Many of those infected either worked or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market. The market is in the center of Huanan and it sold living and newly slaughtered animals.

What is coronavirus?

A coronavirus is a group of viruses that cause various diseases in mammals and birds. Recently coronavirus remained in the headlines of top NEWS in various countries including China. The virus outbreaks in China and causes respiratory infections including the mild common cold. Their form like SARS and MERS can be lethal that came from animals. The virus may cause diarrhea in cows and pigs and on the other hand it can cause upper respiratory disease in chickens.

The name of this virus is derived from the Latin word Corona which means crown and it refers to the characteristics of the virus particles. Ebola and flu are an example of these viruses.

Host of Coronavirus

Like all other coronaviruses, it originates from animals and most of the scientists believe that the original host of this virus was bats. But now some scientist has suspicions that the new coronavirus may have originated from bats or snakes. And scientist believes that this virus possibly then transmitted to humans via intermediary species.

History

In 2002 SARS spread to 37 countries that caused Global panic. SARS infected more than 8000 people and killed more than 750 people. The novel coronavirus 2019 publicly known as the Wuhan virus was identified by Chinese scientists back in 2019. Back in 2019, it was first recognized to have infected humans in seafood and live animal markets in Wuhan. A similar virus was found several years ago in the cave of Yunnan, the province in China. The paper record of 2017 shows that how the scientist found coronavirus in different species of bats in Yunnan cave. The genome of that virus is 96% identical to the recent Wuhan virus. 

Research on Coronavirus

A private Research Organisation said that their team took blood samples from 2000 people who live in Yunnan. 400 people from this sample lived near the cave and roughly 3% of them carried antibodies against SARS coronavirus. 

Researchers said that the virus is continuously jumping from bats to humans. So, history indicates that the current situation is not completely new in Wuhan. Researchers suggest that the current wildlife food trade supported by international supply chains could be a major player in the virus outbreak. 

Symptoms 

The Wuhan Coronavirus has many symptoms like pneumonia. Those who are infected and reported ill are suffering from cough, fever and breathing difficulties. Some extreme symptoms include organ failure.

Common Opinions

Pneumonia antibiotics have no use as this is a virus.  Antiviral drugs against the flu will not work either. The major recovery of the patient depends on the strength of the immune system.  Many patients who are died due to this virus have been reported poor health and a weak immune system. The major victims of coronavirus are older people and few cases are reported in which children have been victimized. 

Precautions

If you have been not to China recently or been in contact with someone infected with the virus then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. But as it is a serious condition the health organizations advised visiting a doctor for cough or cold if it is persistent. If you have chest pain difficulty in breathing, then you should also visit a doctor. And if you are from China or have recently traveled to China then you should stay at home and do not contact someone because human to human transmission is confirmed by China.

Treatment of Coronavirus

Various tests and researches are underway in China to see whether two antiviral drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir could be used for effective treatment. Those two antiviral drugs are used against HIV. These drugs prove effective in the fight against the SARS virus back in 2003. Scientists believe that the new Coronavirus and SARS are similar, and those drugs will help them to fight against those viruses.

Realistically, there is no vaccine for this virus despite the research into SERS and MERS back in 2003 and 2012. It would take years to make a vaccine against coronavirus.

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