What Happened?COVID-19 has escalated from a few dozens cases in the Wuhan Seafood Market to over a million cases worldwide. The situation is still rapidly evolving and we must continuously keep up-to-date on the most current news. However, we must also understand how the situation got to this point so we make sure the same mistakes aren't repeated. As such, a timeline has been provided below. All information is courtsey of the CDC, WHO, and the New York Times.
|
Timeline
Virology
What are Coronaviruses (COVs)?CoVs are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a crown-like appearance under an electron microscope (coronam is the Latin term for crown) due to the presence of spike glycoproteins on the envelope. Members of this large family of viruses can cause respiratory, enteric, hepatic, and neurological diseases in different animal species, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. To date, seven human CoVs (HCoVs) — capable of infecting humans — have been identified. In international gene banks such as GenBank, researchers have published several Sars-CoV-2 gene sequences. This gene mapping is of fundamental importance allowing researchers to trace the phylogenetic tree of the virus and, above all, the recognition of strains that differ according to the mutations. According to recent research, a spike mutation, which probably occurred in late November 2019, triggered jumping to humans. More research is being conducted to gain a better understanding of the viral structure and etiology of COVID-19
|
How does COVID-19 spread?
Because the first cases of the CoVID-19 disease were linked to direct exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market of Wuhan, the animal-to-human transmission was presumed as the main mechanism. Nevertheless, subsequent cases were not associated with this exposure mechanism. Therefore, it was concluded that the virus could also be transmitted from human-to-human, and symptomatic people are the most frequent source of COVID-19 spread. The possibility of transmission before symptoms develop seems to be infrequent, although it cannot be excluded. Moreover, there are suggestions that individuals who remain asymptomatic could transmit the virus. Datat suggests that COVID-19 can spread from one individual to three others, on average. This is several hundred times more contagious than the common flu. This data suggests that the use of isolation is the best way to contain this epidemic.
|
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?A characteristic feature of COVID-19 is that patients experience asymptomatic behavior yet continue to transmit the virus. The incubation period, or the time between exposure to the virus and the first syptoms, is approximately 5 days. The symptoms themselves range from:
- Cough - Fever - Fatigue * Difficulty breathing If you experience severe symptoms, please contact you health care provider for further guidance. Studies done by the CDC have showna link between svere symptoms and older patients. Older patients with underlying health conditions have a higher likelihood of contracting more severe syptoms, like pneumonia. However, all people can still contract the virus and transmit it. *New data is suggesting that COVID-19 may be linked to less traditional syptoms, like stroke. More information will be posted soon. |
|
This is a map created by the John Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. It tracks the estimated number of cases worldwide using red dots as indicators real time. |
What is being done now?World governments are at work to establish countermeasures to stem possible devastating effects. Health organizations coordinate information flows and issues directives and guidelines to best mitigate the impact of the threat. At the same time, scientists around the world work tirelessly, and information about the transmission mechanisms, the clinical spectrum of disease, new diagnostics, and prevention and therapeutic strategies are rapidly developing. Many uncertainties remain with regard to both the virus-host interaction and the evolution of the epidemic, with specific reference to the times when the epidemic will reach its peak.
At the moment, the therapeutic strategies to deal with the infection are only supportive, and prevention aimed at reducing transmission in the community is our best weapon. Aggressive isolation measures in China have led to a progressive reduction of cases in the last few days. In Italy, in geographic regions of the north, initially, and subsequently throughout the peninsula, political and health authorities are making incredible efforts to contain a shock wave that is severely testing the health system. |