The coronavirus , to date, has infected more than 600 people and has spread to Singapore, Saudi Arabia and even the United States, although the World Health Organization (WHO) has refused to declare it a health emergency global.
China announced that it is quarantining Wuhan and several nearby cities, blocking air and rail travel in or out; It is also beginning to restrict road travel. That could be an excellent public safety measure if the number of actual cases were much higher than reported, but it is also helping to spread public panic – a double-edged sword.
There are already almost 3,000 confirmed cases, and experts expect the number to continue to rise.Can this outbreak be contained or is it something much more dangerous? Should we be concerned?
What is the Wuhan Coronavirus?
It is a new coronavirus; that is, a member of the coronavirus family that has never been found before.
A coronavirus is a type of virus with a pointed, crown-like exterior that affects the respiratory tract and guts in mammals. There are more than 3,000 species of coronavirus, but only 7 species (with the addition of this new virus) are known to affect humans.
Like other coronaviruses, this one also comes from animals. Many of those infected frequently worked or shopped at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the center of the Chinese city, which also sold live and freshly slaughtered animals.
New and problematic viruses generally originate in animal hosts. For example, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are caused by coronaviruses that come from animals.
Although MERS is believed to be transmitted to humans from dromedaries, the original hosts for both coronaviruses were likely bats.
In 2002, SARS spread virtually uncontrollably to 37 countries , causing a state of global panic, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 750.
"There is a strong memory of SARS, that's where a lot of fear comes from, but we are much more prepared to deal with these types of diseases"
Josie Golding, Doctor of the Wellcome Trust, London
Symptoms of the Wuhan Coronavirus
It seems to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough, and then after a week, leads to shortness of breath. Notably, the infection rarely seems to cause a runny nose or sneezing. However, the coronavirus family has a wide variety of symptoms that can range from a mild cold to death.
Since it is a viral pneumonia , antibiotics are useless. The antiviral medications that we have against the flu will not work. If people are admitted to the hospital, they can receive support for their lungs and other organs, as well as fluids, but recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system.
“When we see a new coronavirus, we want to know how severe the symptoms are. This is more than cold-like symptoms and is a concern, but it is not as serious as SARS. "
Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh.
The WHO says it is an emergency in China, but decided not to declare an international public health emergency, as it did with swine flu and Ebola.
Is the Wuhan virus contagious?
Person-to-person transmission has been confirmed by the Chinese National Health Commission. In the past week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as in the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongquing and Tianjin.
Chinese Health Minister Ma Xiaowei said the virus's ability to spread is strengthening and accelerating, and the disease is infectious before symptoms start to show.
Scientists have now revealed that each infected person is transmitting the virus to between 1.4 and 2.5 people. This number is called the basic reproduction number of the virus.
Anything greater than 1 means that the virus is self-sufficient , which means that this is not a virus that will go away on its own. Only decisions made in China, including city closures, can stop its spread.
As of January 27, the Chinese authorities had recognized more than 2,700 cases and 56 deaths. The virus has also been confirmed in countries other than China, such as Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
Ma added that the disease is spreading faster than the SARS virus that originated in China and killed more than 800 people in 2002.
Is the Wuhan Coronavirus worrying?
According to Dr. Golding, right now, until we have more information, it's really hard to know how concerned we should be.
“We should be concerned about any virus that explores humans for the first time, because it has passed the first major barrier. Once inside a human cell and replicates, it can start generating mutations that could allow it to spread more efficiently and become more dangerous. "
Professor Jonathan Ball, Virologist at the University of Nottingham
A key concern is the range of severity of symptoms: some people seem to have only mild illness; while others become seriously ill. This makes it more difficult to establish the true infected numbers and the degree of transmission between people.
Should You Panic Over Coronavirus?
No. "The important thing to remember is that while there are many cases, many of them are not serious," says Tracey Goldstein, a professor in the department of pathology, immunology and microbiology at the University of California, Davis. This teacher adds that if you are going to come into contact with a lot of people, it is wise to wash your hands. But that's mainly because right now, we are in the middle of flu season.
The alarming part could be the speed at which the Coronavirus is spreading . The rapid pace is part of why it continues to make news – it is important global health news, even if most people are not at risk – and the constant news feeds the sense of panic.
According to Columbia epidemiologist Simon Anthony, the respiratory nature of the virus makes it relatively easy to spread from human to human. However, all we can do is wait and, as with SARS, our fear will fade as time passes and a deadly pandemic does not emerge.
Is there a treatment for the Coronavirus?
Unlike the flu, there is no vaccine against the new coronavirus , which means that it is more difficult for vulnerable members of the population to protect themselves. However, work to develop it is already underway.
Research on developing a vaccine for MERS, which is also a coronavirus, is expected to make this an easier job. Additionally, hospitals are testing antiviral drugs to see if they have a positive impact on patients.
References
- Gallagher, J. Coronavirus: How worried should we be? For BBC. [Revised January 2020].
