Novel-Coronavirus Pandemic: Facts and Figures we know so far

We have already gone through the worst!

Situation is slowly getting under control now!

Don’t panic and persevere!

Amid the recent times of adversity, these types of rational thinking should dominate your thoughts. It is a fact that the world is going through a critical phase which has reminded us of the horror we faced back in 2003 when a similar threat was imposed over humankind. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2 has been declared as a pandemic by WHO but unlike its predecessors it is more difficult to tackle due to lack of information and awareness. World’s leaders have been taking care of the latter part by implementing preventive measures and quarantine order. Scientists and researchers all over the world are working day and night to find a cure for the virus. We, the rest of the world’s population have a role too. An important role of following our leader’s orders, maintaining world peace and having a clear understanding of our nemesis CoV-2.

The purpose of this blog is to give the information about the virus in the most simplistic and accurate form. What do we know about the virus so far? Is what we know is the truth? Let’s find out or enhance our knowledge through the facts and figures about the novel Coronavirus pandemic that has plagued the world. This will make you understand the real facts about the virus and the disease that it causes.  

I will be covering the following topics in this blog. Go ahead and read on.

What is Coronavirus?

Is it man made?

Source of origin?

Mode of transmission?

Incubation period and significance

Symptoms after contraction?

When to get yourself tested?

When to call your doctor?

Treatment?

Preventive measures?

 

Facts and Figures

Countries most affected	Total infections	Active infections	Recoveries	Deaths
USA	1,42,735	1,35,685	4562	2488
Italy	97,689	73,880	13,030	10,779
China	81,470	2,466	75,700	3,304
Spain	80,110	58,598	14,709	6,803
Germany	62,435	52,683	9,211	541
France	40,174	30,366	7,202	2,606
Iran	38,309	23,278	12,391	2,640
UK	19,522	18,159	135	1,228
Switzerland	14,829	12,934	1,595	300
Netherlands	10,866	9,845	250	771
Worldwide	7,23,319	5,37,522	1,51,804	33,993

*Source of information- Statista.com

*Listed on 30^th March, 2020

What is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus belongs to a broad class of related viruses that are capable of adversely affecting mammal’s and bird’s respiratory system. These groups are categorised into various classes based on their morphological and genomic characteristics. The term is taken from the Latin word corona which means crown, as the surface of the viruses are covered with club-shaped protein spikes, hence being given the term.

Viruses that belong to the Coronaviridae family have been given ranks according to their virulence traits. Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma. Those who claim humans as their hosts are Alpha and Beta Coronaviruses.

Infectious bronchitis Virus (IBV) or Avian Coronavirus: Primary hosts- birds.

Mouse Hepatitis virus (MHV) or Murine Coronavirus (M-CoV): Primary host- Mice.

Transmissible Gastroenteritis Coronavirus (TGEV): Primary host- pigs.

Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E): Primary hosts- humans and bats.

Human coronavirus OC43 ( HCoV-OC43): Primary hosts- humans and cattles.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV): Primary hosts- humans, bats, palm civets.

Human Coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63): Primary hosts- humans, bats, palm civets.

Human Coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1): Primary hosts- humans and mice.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Primary hosts- humans, bats and camels.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Primary hosts- Bats, pangolins, civets and Humans.

Most of the above mentioned viruses have been responsible for mass mortality events and global epidemic in the past few decades. The Coronavirus strain that has been discovered recently and is the causative agent of the current global pandemic is SARS-CoV-2, previously named as novel Coronavirus or nCoV.  

 

Novel Coronavirus

In late 2019, a mysterious illness was reported in China that was showing Flu like symptoms. Following events started making danger signs across other parts of China and sporadically to other parts of the world. Similar reports started to appear from other parts of the world which has taken quite a toll on humankind. The related investigations linked the cases back to Central Wuhan live animal market and speculations were made about the origin of virus. Contrary to the highly debatable beliefs, the virus was not found to be originated from there.

It is true that many people contracted the virus from the market but the market itself was already contaminated with the virus from an anonymous source which is still unknown. Anyways, the infection got out to the public from human to human and tests were run to identify the virus.   

This unknown virus showed similarities to the SARS coronavirus that plagued the world in 2002. Hence, it gained the titles such as novel coronavirus, Wuhan coronavirus, nCoV-2 and 2019 n-CoV. In February 2020, the World Health Organization and ICTV officially named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) and the disease it caused have been named COVID-19 (as in 2019).

If SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus, does that mean it is man-made?

It was one of the hot topics of earlier circulating rumours that the novel Coronavirus was created in a lab in Wuhan and was intended to be a bio-weapon! COMPLETELY FALSE! There are no valid evidence to support such rumors. Moreover, the biosafety level 4 laboratory situated in Wuhan have debunked any relation to the outbreak.

SARS-CoV-2 or for the sake of simplicity, CoV-2 is a natural virus. Which means it has come from nature. This has been proved by the researcher teams who have submitted verified facts about the morphology and genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2. The new virus is clearly too primitive to be considered as a product of artificial engineering. And for the theory of being a bio weapon, SARS-CoV-2 is far too weak contender. Since this is an irrelevant debate I won’t add anything further except, a bio weapon is capable of causing enormous distruction at a very fast rate, which is clearly not the case with this one.

Ending this segment here with a direct quote taken from the New England Journal of Medicine, given by David M Morens (M.D.), Peter Daszak (Ph.D., National institute of Health (NIH) and Jeffery K. Taubenberger (M.D., Ph.D.):

“Off course, scientists tell us that SARS-CoV-2 did not escape from a jar: RNA sequences closely resemble those of viruses that silently circulate in bats, and epidemiologic information implicates a bat-origin virus infecting unidentified animal species sold in China’s live-animal markets.”

What is its source of origin?

Definitely the virus has been originated in animals that became infected after picking it up from nature. There are no other sources that have been been discovered so far. Although chances of any new information is less likely to appear. There are no evidential proof for the exact origin of the virus so far.

Mode of transmission?

The novel Coronavirus is zoonotic, which means it transmitted from animals to animals. Human transmission occurs after direct contact with infected fluids, most likely respiratory droplets. Traces of viral agents have been found in infected stools, but their role as another possible transmission route is yet to be confirmed.   

The most common modes of transmission are:

Direct contact with infected respiratory droplets:

The lower respiratory tract (trachea and lungs) of an infected person contains concentrated amount of Coronavirus. When the person sneezes or coughs, virus gush out along with the droplets which can stay in the area for quite some time. The virus finds a new host in the form of an unsuspecting healthy human who comes in contact with the droplets within an area of 2 meters from the infected.  

Indirect contact:

It has been found that metal as well as glass and steel surfaces can get contaminated with the viral agent. This can happen after an infected person sneezes or coughs near those surfaces or touches them after touching his mouth. The viral remains viable for up to 3 days on the surface, given that it sustains favourable conditions. Although paper and copper have less affinity for virus’s viability, a day and 4 hours respectively.  

Are pets another mode of transmission?

The Centres for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) have mentioned some details regarding this query in their official website:

• Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some cause illness in people and others cause illness in certain types of animals.
• Coronaviruses that infect animals can become able to infect people, but this is rare.
• We do not know the exact source of the current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
• We do not have evidence that companion animals, including pets, can spread COVID-19.
• We do not have evidence to suggest that imported animals or animal products imported pose a risk for spreading the 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States.
• CDC has not received any reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to understand if and how different animals could be affected by COVID-19.

This should suffice as the answer of the question. For those who are abandoning their pets because of this paranoia, it is a humble request to pay attention to the real facts and don’t lose your humanity because of false rumors. Even though there are no evidence of your pet’s involvement in the disease transmission, you can protect your pets without taking extreme measures.

If you have contracted the virus and are worried about your pet’s health, let someone trusted take care of them until you recover. Keep your pets clean and regularly practice a proper hygiene routine. Discard the virus, not your pets!

Incubation period and significance

SARS-CoV-2 has an incubation period of 5 to 6 days, which means that once the virus enters its human host, it takes 5 to 6 days for the symptoms to appear. During this period, the virus is highly contagious with high risks of transmission. In some cases, the incubation period have been reported to be extended to 14 days, although WHO have mentioned that the most common duration is of 5 days.

The incubation period provides important information about the source of infection and help to track others who are infected. This is an important step to contain the virus and prevent its further spread.

However, those who are asymptomatic and do not show symptoms act as covert carriers of the virus.  

WHO consultant Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove stated in a press conference, for now, “We do know that mild individuals shed virus, we know that severe individuals shed virus. We know that the more symptoms you have, the more likely you are to transmit.”

 “The risk of catching COVID-19 from someone with no symptoms at all is very low. However, many people with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. It is therefore possible to catch COVID-19 from someone who has, for example, just a mild cough and does not feel ill.”

It is hence advised by all the government authorities to take precautions in any case. With the increasing unexplained and new confirmed occurrences of cases all over the world despite strong quarantine protocols in motion, it is evident that the virus is far more contagious and highly stealthy.

 

Symptoms of COVID-19

The symptoms of COVID-19 ranges from mild to severe illness. Mild and most common symptoms that appear 2 to 14 days after exposure are:

Fever

Fatigue

Headache

Muscle ache

Dry cough

Sore throat

Nasal congestion

Shortness of breath

 

When to get yourself tested?

If you are having any of the above mentioned symptoms and qualify for the following points, such as:

• If you have a perfectly healthy medical history,
• You are under the age of 40,
• You do not have any underlying issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic respiratory conditions and the most important one,
• You have not travelled or come in contact with someone who have travelled to the highly affected areas,  

then you necessarily don’t have to get yourself tested for coronavirus.

Amid the chaos the world is in and the unfortunate lack of testing resources, the best option for you should be to stay at home for at least 14 days or until your symptoms go away.

It is likely that your conditions are mild and hence are under control if you take proper care of yourself and stay quarantined. Social distancing is the best you can do under these circumstances to stop the virus from further spreading.

Remember, this advice is only applicable if your symptoms are mild and do not cross over the 7 days limit. Otherwise, read further.

 

When to call your doctor?

It is imperative to make an emergency call to your healthcare provider if you develop the following danger warning signs:

High fever

Continuous coughing

Trouble breathing

Sharp and persistent pain in the chest area

Chest feels heavy

Confusion or unaware of the surroundings

Face or lips start appearing blue

If you are in quarantine alert someone else nearer to you. Being quarantined doesn’t mean you have to live all alone. Especially in these times, try not to remain isolated and stay with your family. However, make sure to maintain proper distance with them if you are sick.

 

Preventive measures?

National Centre for Disease Control have recommended preventive measures against Coronavirus. These includes:

• Follow good hygiene practice. Thoroughly wash your hands after coming from outside. Wash properly for at least 1 minute.
• Do not come in contact with a person who is visibly showing signs and symptoms of coughing and sneezing.
• Wear special protective masks around infected people. If you work in a medical facility, wear protective gears issued to all medical centres.
• Keep your distance with a sick family member. It is recommended to maintain a distance of at least 3 feet while interacting with them.
• If you are taking care of a sick family member, then wear protective gears such as masks, gloves. Discard them after use to prevent further transmissions.
• You never know which area is susceptible to the virus, hence avoid touching your face, especially eyes.  
• Cook animal products properly. Abstain from consuming raw or under cooked meat and eggs.
• Stay homeif you are sick. Preventive measures work both ways. Try to remain quarantined until you get your results for CoV-19 back clear. Try to make arrangements to work remotely or from home. 
• While coughing or sneezing, cover your mouthwith a tissue, then discard it properly.  
• Keep your surroundings clean and clear of any visible grime. Get best disinfecting products and regularly keep most susceptible places clean.
• Follow NCDCrecommendations for using a face  
• People who think they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
• Get yourself tested early. The symptoms of the virus remain dormant and the infected person doesn’t show any signs of the disease for over 2 weeks. Your near-by hospitals must have arranged special testing centres for CoV-19. You should go ahead and get your tests done. It won’t count as being over-cautious if you decide to jump the gun.

 

Treatment?

There is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19. People with COVID-19 should receive supportive care to help relieve symptoms. For severe cases, treatment should include care to support vital organ functions. 

Prevention is better than the cure. And in this case there is no cure so far. Hence, the best possible way to combat this disease is to avoid exposure.