Corona Virus : What You Should Know

Corona Virus : History, Causes, Symptoms, Prevention

Overview

It is a virus which cause illness ranging from the common cold to serious

. This virus has a large family of zoonotic viruses. Zoonotic viruses literally means that these virus are easily able to transmit from animals to humans. Corona virus, this name is given according to its shape which takes the form of crown with protrusions around it. Presence of human corona virus were first identified in mid 1960s.

There are four sub-groupings of corona virus, known as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.

1. Alpha and Beta ,these two sub-groups genera are derived from Bats.

2. Gamma genera are derived from Avian.

3. Delta genera are derived from pigs.

Seven Corona viruses that can infect people are:

Common human Corona viruses:

1. 229E (alpha corona virus) – present in common cold

2. NL63 (alpha corona virus) – respiratory distress syndrome

3. OC43 (beta corona virus) – common cold syndrome

4. HKU1 (beta corona virus) – respiratory infection

Other Human Corona viruses:

5. MERS-CoV (the beta corona virus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS)

6. SARS-CoV (the beta corona virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS)

7. SARS-CoV-2 (the novel corona virus that causes corona virus disease 2019 or COVID-19)

Infectted animals from corona viruses can mutate and make people sick and take a new form of corona virus. Three recent examples of this are 2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV.

229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1 these are human corona viruses that infect people around the world commonly.

***Classification of Human Corona Virus Table***

History

Two recent corona virus outburst have been experienced. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) of 2012 was found to transmit from Arabian camels to humans. In 2002, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) was found to transmit from civet cats to humans.

The story of COVID-19 began spreading in December 2019 with cases of infection that inflames air sacs in one or both lungs without an identifiable cause. One shrewd physician saw this and alert his colleagues. He was rebuke by the authorities for spreading fear. Soon they realised that the alarm was true. First 41 cases, most of them were workers or had direct contact with the Hunan Sea Food Wholesale Market where several species of wild-caught animals were sold and stocked.On 7 January 2020, WHO had notified that the causes of disease was novel coronavirus.

A researcher team of China who preferred to be anonymous, told Global Times

“The origin of the virus still remains unknown based on current published data, still it needs scientists uninterrupted effort in determining the intermediate host of Coronavirus, and carrying out complete detail on virus-tracing studies”.

On May 20,2020 According to Global Times report

A study revealed that Capital Wuhan may not be the birthplace of COVID-19. Birthplace of this virus suggested to be Huanan Seafood Market in Hubei, which has a strong link to contacts with the Wuhan seafood Market.

But US denying these reports of China,

and said Corona virus originating from Bio lab of Wuhan,China .

Causes

**Corona Virus effect on lungs**
**Source : cnn**

This virus spread easily among people, and continues to be discover over time about how it spreads. Researchers data shown that it spreads from person to person among those in close contact (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters). The virus spreads by respiratory droplets released when someone with the virus coughs, sneezes or talks. These droplets can be inhaled or land in the mouth or nose of a person nearby.

It can also spread if a person touches a surface with the virus on it and then touches his or her mouth, nose or eyes.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of corona virus disease 2019 may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure. Time between after exposure and before having symptoms called incubation period. Common signs and symptoms can include:

1. Fever

2. Cough

3. Tiredness

Other symptoms can include:

4. Difficulty in breathing

5. Muscle aches

6. Chills

7. Sore throat

8. Loss of taste or smell

9. Headache

10. Chest pain

This list is not all inclusive. Other less common symptoms have been reported, such as rash, vomiting and diarrhea. Children have similar symptoms as adults have and generally have mild illness.

The seriousness of COVID-19 symptoms can range from very mild to dangerous. Some people may have few symptoms and some people may have no symptoms at all. People who are older or who are suffering from chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, severe obesity, chronic kidney or liver disease, or who have low immunity may have higher risk of serious illness.