Blog92: Know about Coronaviruses

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. 

Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. They are common throughout the world and  are zoonotic, means they are transmitted between animals and people. Most coronavirus infect animals, but there are seven different coronaviruses that infect humans.

Types of Coronaviruses

Common Human Coronaviruses

1. 229E (alpha coronavirus)

2. NL63 (alpha coronavirus)

3. OC43 (beta coronavirus)

4. HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

Other Human Coronaviruses

5. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)

6. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV)

7. 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

People around the world commonly get infected with human coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1. Sometimes coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve and make people sick and become a new human coronavirus. Three recent examples of this are 2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV.

Symptoms of Coronaviruses

• General symptoms include those of common cold: runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever.
• MERS and SARS have been known to frequently cause severe and sometimes lethal respiratory symptoms.
• MERS symptoms often progress to pneumonia or kidney failure and can be deadly.
• SARS usually begins with flu-like signs and symptoms- fever, chills, muscle aches, headache and occasionally diarrhea. After about a week, signs and symptoms include: Fever of 100.5 F (38 C) or higher, dry cough, shortness of breath. It may progress to pneumonia also.

Reservoir of Coronaviruses

Nearly all coronaviruses are thought to originate from bats, and the genome sequence of 2019-nCoV is 96 percent identical to the sequence of a bat coronavirus. However, bat-to-human transmission is thought to be exceedingly unlikely. The zoonotic “jump” from animals to human usually occurs through an intermediate animal reservoir. In the case of SARS, it was the civet, which was a cat-like animal that was used for consumption in the animal markets in China. With MERS, it was camels.

Transmission of Coronaviruses

Human coronaviruses most commonly spread from an infected person to others through:

• The air by coughing and sneezing.
• Close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands.
• Touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands rarely, fecal contamination.

Prevention from Coronaviruses

People can have multiple infections in their lifetime. There are currently no vaccines available to protect you against coronaviruses. You may be able to reduce your risk of infection by doing the following:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Washed your cloths properly and wear clean or washed cloths.
• Avoid eating sea foods, pork meat, birds, beef and thoroughly cook meat & eggs. 
• No unprotected contact with live wild or farm animals.

If you have cold-like symptoms, you can help protect others by doing the following;

• Stay home while you are sick.
• Avoid close contact with others.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
• Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces.

Treatment of Coronaviruses

There are no specific treatments for illness caused by human coronaviruses as well. However, you can do somethings to relieve your symptoms:

• Take pain and fever medications.
• Use a room humidifier or take a hot shower to help ease a sore throat and cough.
• For sever cases, current treatment includes care to support vital organ functions.

If you were in Wuhan and feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, within 14 days after you left Wuhan, you should:

• Seek medical care right away. Before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room, call ahead and tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.
• Avoid contact with others. Not travel while sick.

Thank You!