Just How Dangerous is The New Coronavirus?

Coronavirus is back in the news this week. It seems that it’s all televisions talk about the pneumonia emergency. In case you didn’t already know, the disease outbreak began in Wuhan, China. The issue was first brought to the attention of the World Health Organization on New Year’s Eve, but the special committee didn’t declare an emergency state until January 30. The hurried spread of the coronavirus in China alarmed the entire world, surrounding nations closing their borders, airlines suspending their flights, and governments refusing entry to people who aren’t nationals of the country and have paid a visit to China.

Scientists are doing their best to understand the fatal virus but, so far, they haven’t been so successful. Some of the questions that the scientific community is asking itself are:

 

• Where did the virus come from? 

• How fast does it spread?

• What makes you sick?

• Why do you die?

 

This is what they don’t know. Until now, 2,478 cases have been identified in main part of China. The total number of people infected worldwide amounts to 43,101. So, yes, there’s good reason to be concerned. According to the UN, countries must be as aggressive as possible if they want to stop the spread of coronavirus before it’s too late.

Coronavirus definition made simple

As the name clearly suggests, the coronavirus is part of the family of coronaviruses, which causes respiratory diseases like the common cold, or more serious diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. What we’re dealing with right now is a new strain of coronavirus – 2019-nCoV. The outbreak is a major concern since we have very little information about the characteristics of the new virus, how it spreads to other people and just how severe are the resulting infections. The only thing we know for sure is that the coronavirus can spread between people and animals.

People who get infected might not even become sick. This is just a theory, though. The focus right now is to contain the virus. We don’t know what the virus is capable of, not to mention that it can possibly mutate, becoming even more dangerous than it already is. To protect yourself against viral infections, it’s recommended to wash your hands as often as possible and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth to reduce the risk of transmission. Most importantly, avoid becoming too friendly with someone showing symptoms of respiratory illness.

The symptoms of novel coronavirus

More often than not, coronavirus is spread by carriers who are asymptomatic. This is the reason why it’s so difficult to quarantine infected areas. A person who has been infected by coronavirus has cold- or flu-like symptoms, such as:

 

• Fever 

• Cough

• Shortness of breath

 

The symptoms typically occur within 2 days following exposure to the fatal virus. Sometimes, the person may not exhibit symptoms for weeks at an end. Anyone can get an infection and the symptoms depend on the severity of the illness. What happens is that the virus multiplies in the respiratory tract. If you have mild symptoms, you’ll think that you were struck by the common cold. Nevertheless, if you can’t stop vomiting and experience abdominal discomfort, it’s time to get yourself checked by a doctor. It’s necessary to remain hospitalized.

A good immune system is key to good health

The vast majority of those who have died from coronavirus had a weakened immune system. to be more precise, they already were in poor health. Building a strong immune system is the best line of defence against coronaviruses, according to Bentleigh East Doctors. If you have a good immune system, you’re able to avoid the threat of immunopathology. Children, for example, haven’t been affected by the new coronavirus. The reason for this is that they have an exceptional immune system that can fight against diseases and infections.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that youngsters have been missing from the coronavirus outbreaks, so as to say. Your immune system depends on the choices that you make on a daily basis. It’s a system, which means that it requires balance and harmony. If you want to strengthen your immune system, this is what you need to do:

• Quit smoking.
• Avoid stress when you can.
• Drink alcohol in moderation.
• Adopt an animal.
• Build a social network.

It’s important to not forget about immunisation. For the time being, we don’t have a vaccine for coronavirus. It should be ready by the end of next year, but it’s highly unlikely that scientists will come up with a solution by then. Extensive research needs to be conducted into the precise mechanism of protection and immune enhancement is needed to make a safe vaccine. Due to the fact that there’s no vaccine, you should avoid by all costs being exposed to the virus.

Can face masks really protect against the new coronavirus?

If you like keeping up with what is happening in the world, you’ve most probably seen images of people wearing face masks, in a desperate attempt to protect themselves from the fatal virus. So, it’s only worth asking: Are they really helpful? You’d be surprised to find out that face masks aren’t the best form of protection. Face masks tend to be loose, they don’t cover the entire face, not to mention that they can’t be worn for long periods of time. Equally important is to stress that only sick people should wear face masks. It prevents them from infecting those around them.

Recently, the Australian government released approximately 500,000 protective face masks to general practitioners. All clinics have benefitted from this measure, including those previously affected by bushfires. The face masks released are N95 respirator type and they prevent almost all particles from entering the nose or mouth. Given that patients who’ve travelled to foreign countries have exhibited flu-like symptoms, this measure was highly necessary. The federal government will outsource additional masks, having only 8 million surgical masks in stock. Although the risk of being infected is extremely low, it’s better to be safe than sorry.