Since the inception of the new year, there has been a lot of controversies globally and in different sector and in different continents of the world, happenings and events, but one that concerns us all the most are the outbreaks of dangerous and fast spreading diseases, some of which are incurable at the moment. Some of which are now having a high number of mortality rates in just 27 days of the year.

Coronaviruses

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals, including humans, and birds. In humans, the virus causes respiratory infections which are typically mild but, in rare cases, can be lethal. In cows and pigs, they may cause diarrhoea, while in chickens it can cause an upper respiratory disease. There are no vaccines or antiviral drugs that are approved for prevention or treatment. (According to Wikipedia.com)

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most people get infected with coronaviruses at one point in their lives, but symptoms are typically mild to moderate. In some cases, the viruses can cause lower-respiratory tract illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis. 

These viruses are common amongst animals worldwide, but only a handful of them are known to affect humans. Rarely, coronaviruses can evolve and spread from animals to humans. This is what happened with the coronaviruses known as the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-Cov), both of which are known to cause more severe symptoms.

The Spread of Coronavirus

Coronaviruses are believed to cause a significant percentage of all common colds in human adults and children. Coronaviruses cause colds with major symptoms, e.g. fever, throat swollen adenoids, in humans primarily in the winter and early spring seasons.^[7] Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or a secondary bacterial pneumonia and they can also cause bronchitis, either direct viral bronchitis or a secondary bacterial bronchitis.^[8] The much publicized human coronavirus discovered in 2003, SARS-CoV which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections.

The newly identified coronavirus has been spreading in China, and has now reached several other countries. As the number of confirmed cases and deaths continue to rise, health officials are working on all fronts to learn more about the virus and put measures into place to curtail its spread. Here’s a look at what you need to know about the virus, now called 2019-nCoV. 

 Two more cases of the new virus have been confirmed as of Sunday night in the United States, bringing the total in the U.S. to five. The additional cases were found in California and Arizona. That number is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The death toll from the virus has risen to at least 80, The New York Times reported. As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases has reached more than 2,700, according to the Times. In addition to the cases reported in China and the U.S., reports of the infection have been confirmed in Australia, France and several countries in Asia. China has also temporarily banned the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and online. 

As of Sunday, there are more than 2,700 confirmed cases and at least 80 deaths linked to the 2019-nCoV virus, according to The New York Times. This evening, the CDC announced two more U.S. cases, one in California and another in Arizona. Early, the third person in the U.S., this one in Orange County, California, was reported to have tested positive for the new coronavirus; according to the county health department, the person had travelled from Wuhan and was in “good condition,” the Times reported. The second person in the United States (a woman in Chicago) was confirmed to have the virus on Jan. 24, and the first case was confirmed in a man in Washington state on Jan. 21. So far, all of the infected individuals in the U.S. had also recently returned from Wuhan. 

The first “presumptive” case of the novel virus has been reported in Canada in a man in his 50s who had returned from Wuhan to Toronto, the Times also reported.

Animal to Human contraction.

Since the virus first popped up in Wuhan in people who had visited a local seafood and animal market, officials could only say it likely hopped from an animal to humans. In a new study, however, researchers sequenced the genes of 2019-nCoV (as the virus is now called), and then they compared it with the genetic sequences of more than 200 coronaviruses that infect various animals around the world. Their results, detailed in the Journal of Medical Virology, suggested that 2019-nCoV likely originated in snakes. 

As for what kind of snake, the scientists noted there are two snakes that are common to southeastern China where the outbreak originated: the many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus) and the Chinese cobra (Naja atra).

However, some experts have criticized the study, saying it’s unclear if coronaviruses can indeed infect snakes. (From LIVESCIENCE.com)

Human to Human Contraction

In some cases, the virus can be transmitted or contact through human contact or exposure to a patient who has contacted the diseases, but the primary mode of transmission seems to be from animal to human. In terms of how one would catch the virus, the human coronaviruses are most commonly spread between an infected person and others via: 

• the air (from viral particles from a cough or sneeze); 
• close personal contact (touching or shaking hands); 
• an object or surface with viral particles on it (then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands);
• and rarely from faecal contamination.

Symptoms of Human Coronavirus

• Runny nose, Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Diarrhoea
• Fever
• Rapid heartbeat
• Chills
• Pneumonia
• Kidney failure
• Difficulties in breathing

How to we protest ourselves

If traveling to Wuhan, you should avoid contact with sick people, avoid dead or alive animals, animal markets or products that come from animals such as uncooked meat. You should often wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, they wrote. If you are infected by the virus you can take steps to help avoid transmitting it to others such as isolating yourself at home, separating yourself from other people in the house, wearing a face mask, covering your coughs and sneezes and washing your hands. 

People who travelled to Wuhan and became sick with fever, cough or difficulty breathing within the following two weeks should seek medical care right away, and call ahead to inform medical staff about their recent travel.