What is Novel Coronavirus? All About COVID-19 Disease

What is Novel Coronavirus? – In the month of December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia was founded in the Chinese city of Wuhan, caused by a previously unknown type of coronavirus. On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization about the outbreak of unknown pneumonia.

Later, COVID-19 spread beyond China and affected many countries in the world. Such as Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, India, and even Nepal. In addition to China, the most significant number of infected were recorded in South Korea, Italy, and Iran. A vaccine against the new coronavirus has been in the test by the American scientists according to the recent news.

At first, the disease was called 2019-nCoV. On February 11, 2020, it was named the new coronavirus disease ( COVID-2019 ). Chinese scientists isolated the pathogen (the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 ) and established a genetic link to the sequence of its genome.

The virus is at least 70% similar in genetic sequence to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (also known as SARS ) virus SARS-CoV. The incubation period of a new type of pneumonia lasts from 2 to 20 days. According to recent data, the disease becomes contagious before the onset of symptoms.

Since January 22, Wuhan has been quarantined. On January 24 quarantine was closely adjacent to the Wuhan City District Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi and county-level city Zhejiang City District Yichang. In total, exit from 14 cities is limited. The virus was later detected in all provincial-level administrative divisions of China.

On March 11, WHO announced that the outbreak has become a pandemic. As of March 16, 178 078 cases of infection in 162 countries and territories, 7060 deaths were confirmed.

It is alleged that on December 30, 2019, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was the first to report a new virus, similar to the SARS virus. In a conversation between graduates of the medical faculty of Wuhan University in WeChat. After which he was called to the police and strictly warned about the inadmissibility of rumors.

What is a virus?

First, you need to know what a virus is in general. A virus is a non-cellular form of life that spreads the infection to cells of living organisms, including bacteria. The term came from the Latin word virus, meaning poison. Viruses, unlike bacteria, animals, plants, and fungi, cannot multiply on their own.

To do this, they need to penetrate the cells of the host organism. Then the virus begins to use intracellular protein synthesis systems to create its own copies. When the cell is depleted, a new brood of viruses leaves it.

However, sometimes the process can go a different way. So, some bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) may not destroy the host cell, but be embedded in its DNA chain. And with each division of the bacteria, the virus actually multiplies.

Moreover, such bacteria are immune from infection with viruses of the same type. Such coexistence can continue for a long time until under the influence of various factors the sleeping virus wakes up. And returns to reproduction along the usual path, due to the destruction of the cell.

What is Coronavirus?

You may not know but Coronaviruses are the most common causes of colds and respiratory tract infections. As of 2019, the new coronavirus has been identified that is a respiratory virus that was not seen before in the human body.

It is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets as a result of inhalation of droplets released from the patient’s respiratory tract. For example by coughing or sneezing, as well as droplets of saliva or nasal discharge. It can also spread when the patient touches any contaminated surface, such as a door handle.

In this case, infection occurs when you touch your mouth, nose or eyes with dirty hands. Coronaviruses are a family of RNA viruses that infect humans and animals. The name is associated with the structure of the virus, the spine-shaped processes of which resemble the solar corona.

Therefore it is called the Coronavirus which is extremely tenacious and difficult to get rid of.  This virus can affect anyone, whether babies, children, adults, the elderly, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.

However, some scientists and epidemiologists suggested that the disease will decline in the near future due to the onset of spring.  As they suggested that the virus is not capable of surviving in hot temperatures.

This was stated by an epidemiologist, an assistant to the Department of Organization of Health and Medical Law of St. Petersburg State University Lidia Sopron.  According to her, panic due to infection is not worth it, and fears are associated with its novelty and the need to study.

Why Coronavirus is more serious and life threatening?

The newly discovered Coronavirus is more serious than you can think and is already causing the threatening condition worldwide. Mainly for these reasons:

1. Can survive anywhere

A new study recently conducted found that a new coronavirus can exist in the air for about three hours, and on certain surfaces for up to three days. American scientists said that airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus is probable, meaning it can be infected not only by coughing.

Researchers also found that particles of the disease can live up to four hours on copper, 24 hours on cardboard, and two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.  These preliminary results can help explain why the virus is so hard to contain.

Because of this reason, the virus and the disease are spreading to more and more countries and infecting more people day by day. Many countries are now locking down, schools and colleges are closed, a gathering of the crowd is prohibited.

2. Common symptoms as that of flu

With COVID-19, three symptoms are fixed, which most often occur together, which is not typical for other diseases.  Those infected have a fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. In addition, pain in the head, muscles, and throat may develop, as well as fatigue.

Diarrhea with coronavirus rarely occurs, although such cases have also been reported.  Since these symptoms are often mistaken with the symptoms of common cold or flu. Therefore people often don’t visit the doctor assuming it being the simple flu or common cold.

3. The virus can disguise

Coronavirus has already learned to disguise itself as another disease – dengue fever. This was stated by Singaporean scientists and doctors as per the reports of The Straits Times.

The patient comes with a typical clinical picture for dengue – high fever and rash.  At the same time, he does not have the usual symptoms of COVID-19 – a runny nose, cough, sore throat as the report said.

4. It is the airborne disease

The research has concluded that the virus and the disease are airborne and are contagious. That means the disease spreads from the droplets of the sick person as he coughs, sneezes or even touches the surface with his hands.

It has been said that the disease spread to the noninfected person even via the paper notes and the mobile devices that the sick person has touched.

That’s why the disease has been spreading so fast and has become pandemic as declared by WHO.