Corona virus Symptoms, Treatments and types
Corona virus are types of viruses that typically affect the respiratory tracts of birds and mammals, including humans. Doctors associate them with the common cold, bronchitis, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) and COVID-19. They can also affect the gut.
These Viruses are typically responsible for common colds more than serious diseases. However corona viruses are also behind some more severe outbreaks.
Over last 70 years scientists have found that corona virus can infect mice, rats , dogs, cats, turkeys, horses, pigs, and cattle. Sometimes these animals can transmit coronavirus to humans.
Most recently authorities identified a new coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID -19.
In this article we explain the different types of human coronaviruses, their symptoms and how people transmit them. We also focus on three particularly dangerous diseases that have spread due to coronavirus: COVID- 19, SARS and MERS.
WHAT IS A CORONAVIRUS?
Researchers first isolated a coronavirus in 1937. They found a coronavirus responsible for an infectious bronchitis virus in birds that had the ability to devastate poultry stocks.
Scientists first found evidence of human coronaviruses in the 1960’s in the noses of people with the common cold. Two human coronaviruses are responsible for a large proportion of common colds: OC43 and 229E.
The name “ coronavirus” comes from the crown- like projections on their surfaces. “corona” in Latin means “halo” or “crown”.
Among humans, coronavirus infections most often occur during the winter months and early spring. People regularly become ill with a cold due to a coronavirus and may catch the same one about 4 months later.
This is because coronavirus antibodies do not last for a long time. Also, the antibodies for one strain of coronavirus may be ineffective against one another.
COVID-19
In 2019, the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) started monitoring the outbreak of a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which causes the respiratory illness now known as COVID-19. Authorities first identified the virus in Wuhan, China.
Since then, the virus has spread to other countries both in and outside Asia, leading the world Health Organization (WHO) to declare this as a pandemic.
As of March 23, more than 340,000 people have contracted the virus worldwide causing over 14,000 deaths,
In the U.S. the virus has affected over 35,000 people resulting in more than 450 deaths.
The first people with COVId-19 had links to an animal seafood market. This fact suggested that animals initially transmitted the virus to humans. However people with a more recent diagnosis had no connections with or exposure to the market, confirming that humans can pass the virus to each other.
Information on the virus is scarce at present . In the past respiratory conditions that develop from coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS have spread through close contacts.
On February 17 2020 the director general of the WHO presented at a media briefing the following updates on how often the symptoms of COVID-19 are severe or fatal using data from 44.000 people with a confirmed diagnosis :
| Stage of severity | Rough percentage of people with COVID-19 |
| Mild disease from which a person can recover | More than 80% |
| Severe disease causing breathlessness and pneumonia | Around 14% |
| Critical disease, including septic shock, respiratory failure and the failure of more than one organ | About 5% |
| Fatal disease | 2% |
The WHO reports that the two group most at risk of experiencing severe illness due to a SARS-COV-2 infection are older adults defined as over 60 years old and individual who have other health conditions that compromise their immune system.
According to the CDC children are not at higher risk for COVID- than adults.
While there are currently no published scientific reports about the susceptibility of pregnant women, the CDC notes that:
“pregnant women experience immunologic and physiologic changes which might make them more susceptible to viral respiratory infections including COVID-19.
The CDC also recommend that infants born to mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are placed in isolation as a “ person under Investigation”
SYMPTOMS OF COVID -19
Symptoms vary from person to person with COVID -19. It may produce few or no symptoms. However it can also lead to severe illness and may be fatal. Common symptoms might be as follow:
# Fever
# breathlessness
# cough
# potential loss of taste or smell
It may take 2-14 days for a person to notice symptoms after infection.
No vaccine is currently available for Covid-19. However scientists have now replicates the virus. This could allow for early detection and treatment in people who have the virus but are not yet showing symptoms.
The national institutes of health suggest that several groups of people have the highest risk for developing complications due to Covid-19. These groups include:
# Young Children
# People aged 65 years or older
The CDC advise that although there have been reports of complications in young children these are rare. COVID-19 most commonly produces mild symptoms in children.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS OF CORONA VIRUS
Cold- or-flu –like symptoms usually set in from 2-4 days after a coronavirus infection and are typically mild. However symptoms vary from person to person and some forms of the virus can be fatal.
Symptoms may include:
# Sneezing
# Runny Nose
# Fatigue
# Cough
# Fever
# Sore throat
# Exacerbated asthma
Scientist cannot easily cultivate human coronaviruses in the laboratory unlike the rhinovirus which is another cause of the common cold. This makes it difficult to gauge the impact of the coronavirus on national economics and public health.
There is no cure for coronavirus that cause symptoms resembling the common cold.
Treatments include self-care and over-the-counter medication. People can take several steps, including:
# Resting and avoiding overexcreation
# Drinking enough water
# Avoiding smoking and smoky areas
# taking acetaminophen for pain and fever
#using a clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer
A doctor can diagnose the virus responsible by taking a sample of respiratory fluids such as mucus from the nose or blood.
TYPES
Coronaviruses belong to the subfamily coronaviridae in the family coronaviridae.
Different types of human coronaviruses vary in how severe the resulting disease becomes, and how far they can spread.
Doctors currently recognize seven types of coronavirus that can infect humans.
Common types includes:
# 229E ( alpha coronavirus)
# NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
#OC43(beta coronavirus)
#HKU1 ( beta coronavirus)
Corona virus Symptoms, Treatments and types
Rarer strains that cause more severe complications include MERS-CoV, which causes middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS), and SARS-CoV the virus responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS).
In 2019 a new strain called SARS-CoV-2 started circulating causing the disease COVID-19.
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