The coronavirus is a fairly large family of viruses that can harm both humans and animals. In the case of the human condition, several coronaviruses directly affect the respiratory system, thus generating different types of colds. They may also cause more serious illnesses such as MERS (Middle East Coronavirus Respiratory Syndrome). One of the coronaviruses that has recently been discovered is Covid-19, which has been declared a global pandemic by the world health organization.
What is coronavirus (COVID-19)
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This is a virus that was discovered at the end of 2019 and due to its rapid spread, it has been classified as a global pandemic (officially declared by the WHO) since it directly affects human beings generating fully acute respiratory diseases.
The level of alarm in the world increases because the first infected emerged in late December in China, but little by little they crossed the borders, managing to infect a dangerous number of people around the world. The information handled by the WHO Coronavirus not only reports infected in China, but also in countries such as the US, Italy and Spain.
Origin of the coronavirus
Due to the locality where the Covid-19 outbreaks began, many call it China Coronavirus, however, it must be taken into account that these viruses were discovered in the early 1960s without a clear origin, in fact, the first affected were the animals, which presented respiratory failures and, after them, a rapid death. However, it must be taken into account that, to arrive at the existence of Covid-19, two types of coronavirus were registered that affected many countries, starting with China and ending in Saudi Arabia.
Among the many coronaviruses, Covid-19 is born from two other viruses that, over the years, “mutated” and managed to generate more damage to human beings. The first contagious virus belonging to the coronavirus chain is SARS or SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which originated in China in mid-2002, and reached more than 8,000 people, both in China and in 37 others. countries generating more than 700 deaths.
The symptoms of this virus ranged from general malaise to breathing difficulties, with a mortality rate of 10%. Then another virus from the same chain appeared, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), detected in Saudi Arabia in mid-2012. The symptoms were not so different from SARS, but one more was added to the list, fever.
Until 2019, there were 2,400 infected in some countries and they did not exceed 800 deaths, but this brought the mortality rate from MERS to 35%.
From the outbreaks that emerged in Wuhan, China, he managed to discover that SARS is the one that causes Covid-19, this is because it increases symptoms in those infected and deteriorates the immune system, weakening the body of patients and increasing the mortality rate. That is why the WHO has declared that this type of coronavirus must be considered a pandemic and its care must be not only rigorous, but also mandatory for its prevention, because unfortunately, there is still no cure for the virus.
Symptoms and diagnosis of coronavirus
Possible cases of coronavirus 19 in patients around the world have presented symptoms such as fatigue, dry cough, fever and joint pain. Nasal congestion is also possible, but it is not common and usually lasts only a few hours, maximum two days. A sore throat and diarrhea are ways of knowing that the disease has advanced. In fact, within the coronavirus symptoms, these can increase over the days, which is why it is said that these are symptoms that appear or disappear gradually. The risk of this virus is that each symptom can cause the disease to worsen.
There are cases of people who have been infected and who do not have any kind of coronavirus symptoms except fatigue, headache or dyspnea (difficulty breathing), as well as others who not only manifest the symptoms mentioned above, but also worsen, thus suffering from bad colds to pneumonia and other types of respiratory and heart diseases.
People with the highest risk of contagion are those over 50 years of age, especially if they have a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, heart and respiratory diseases. Children have a low contagion rate, but they also have the possibility of contracting the virus.
All these symptoms appear during the first 14 days of exposure to an infected person, during which time the virus incubates and can infect others.
In terms of diagnosis, doctors perform a series of tests that allow them to detect the virus in patients. Among these samples are those from the respiratory tract (bronchoalveolar lavage, sputum and tracheal aspirate). Oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal tests are also performed with swabs, which must be transported in tubes with viral transport.
There are few cases of routine samples (platelets, hemoglobin, urine or feces), but if this is the case, each sample must be kept packaged and properly refrigerated. The sampling protocol is rigorous and requires professionals capable of performing the tests.
The final diagnosis is given once each of the relevant tests have been performed, which happens after 72 business hours, although it is also possible that the results are available within 24 and 48 business hours.
From there, each person diagnosed with the virus must remain in quarantine and following a special treatment dictated or ordered by the world health organization.
Ways of contagion of the coronavirus
The information provided by the WHO and the one that is handled so far, is that people can contract Covid-19 through contact with an infected patient. The contagion is based on person-to-person contact, through droplets that come from the nose or mouth of the infected and that spread in the environment when they cough or sneeze.
If these droplets fall on objects, clothes or any surface and another person has contact with them and, subsequently, the face, eyes, nose or mouth is touched, the percentage of contagion increases to 80%.
However, it must be emphasized that there are cases of people who do not present any type of symptoms, so it is best to take the relevant precautions.
Currently, the WHO continues to search for other possible ways of contagion, so it is possible that during the next days and weeks more information regarding this virus will come out. It is not possible to become infected by being in contact with animals, so pets are definitely not a source of contagion. In addition to this, people who are not infected can not infect others, only those who have the virus and sneeze or start coughing in front of others.
Prevention against coronavirus
Given the rate of infected worldwide and, unfortunately, the mortality rate registered in the last 3 months, it is important to take prevention mechanisms against the coronavirus, in this way, not only personal contagion is avoided, but the collective contagion the people who are in our family and social circle.
The world health organization has issued a series of mechanisms and tools to prevent the virus, as well as measures for those who are already infected with Covid-19 and all will be mentioned and explained in this section.
Prevention healthy people
The first recommendation issued by the WHO and followed by all countries (even those that do not have registered cases of coronavirus) are:
- Thorough hand washing with water, soap or an alcohol-based disinfectant, as its chemical components are capable of keeping the virus away.
- Maintain a distance of at least 3 meters with people (whether or not they are infected) to avoid possible contagion.
- It is vitally important to avoid touching the mouth, nose and eyes, in this way, contagion is avoided by allegedly touching objects, or being near infected people.
- It is necessary to maintain a high level of hygiene, also adding the use of face masks and gloves (only when on the street) to prevent droplets from being in contact with the hands, eyes, nose and mouth (places where it can survive the virus and, in addition, enter the human body).
- The ideal is to stay at home to avoid contagion and, in case of presenting some of the symptoms, go to the emergency room to rule out. You should not take any type of antibiotics either to avoid or to eradicate the virus. Nor should you smoke.
- Since the main reason for contagion in the rest of the countries was due to travel, it is best to avoid moving not only from country to country, but from town to town. Mass mobilization increases the risk of contagion and spread of the virus.
- The WHO recommends avoiding eating raw or undercooked meat or products, avoiding visiting places of mass gatherings or where infected people have been present.
- Use masks only when you are going to leave the house (and only use one).
Prevention of infected people
- In the case of people who are already infected by the virus, the best thing to do is to follow the recommendations of the doctors.
- For those who are in health centers, continue with the established treatment (which is the same for a common flu, since there is still no cure) and wash your hands frequently.
- For those who are quarantined from their homes, they must use masks on a mandatory basis, wash their hands constantly and wear gloves, follow the common flu treatment and not go outside under any circumstances, unless under supervision and medical transfer.
recommendations
- First of all, it is necessary to stay informed daily about the cases of coronavirus 19 in your country of origin, follow the recommendations issued by the WHO, obey the measures taken by the government of your country and not leave home unless it is strictly necessary..
- Another thing that must be taken into account is not to believe in all the WhatsApp chains that circulate daily. Only information that comes from reliable websites (news from reliable local and international channels, WHO websites or truthful general information sites, etc.) should be believed.
- You need to avoid nervous shopping. It is well known that the measures in some countries range from quarantine to states of emergency and that it will be necessary to provide food and non-perishable products, but buying in abundance will limit the rest of the people from being able to provide supplies.
- Stay calm, avoid panicking and always stay informed about the new measures in your area and the cases of the virus in your territory.
- Household surfaces that are frequently used or touched must be cleaned and disinfected.
Coronavirus in the world
Since its discovery in China last December 2019, the virus has gained considerable strength worldwide, where the countries most affected by the virus have been China (in the first place because it is the site of discovery and spread), Italy and Spain, in fact, these last two countries have been in critical condition due to how fast the virus has spread in both territories. The coronavirus China was able to contain itself after two months of arduous fight, but that did not prevent countries like Italy and Spain from being as affected as China.
The governments of both countries, even more so, that of Italy, ordered priority measures for those infected and others for the rest of the citizenry. But although the Italian government took action, people did not follow them and the virus spread faster.
For its part, the WHO created a coronavirus map showing the timeline in which the virus spread throughout the world, thus infecting at least 117 countries to date and counting. The countries with the highest number of infected in the world, apart from China, Italy and Spain, are Iran, Germany, the USA, France, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Norway.
In principle, people took all this as a game, they even created a meme coronavirus, but now that the extent of the virus has been seen, they have started to become aware.
Spread of the COVID-19 virus
From the moment that the existence of this virus became known, people around the world began to be alarmed. The first cases of Covid-19 outside of China were of people who were in the Asian country at the time of spread and who returned to their countries of origin during the incubation period. The virus entered Europe in mid-January and, just as it got there, it also moved rapidly through Latin America, Africa and Oceania. One of the countries that generates the most concern in America is the United States.
The US has taken many measures to prevent and counteract the virus, but the number of infected is still increasing. Canada is the second country in Latin America with the most cases, followed by Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, and Mexico. The latter country, to date, has a fairly high number of infected.
In Aztec lands, the Mexico coronavirus has generated alarm in citizens, even more so when the first cases were announced (due to the entry and return of the North American country).
So far, an exact number of infected or deceased from coronavirus is not handled in Mexico or in any other country in the world, this is motivated by the fact that new infected are reported daily. Guyana and French Guiana, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Guatemala, Cuba, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica and Venezuela have a low number of infected.
Government prevention measures
With the rapid spread of the virus, countries around the world have decided to take drastic measures not only to protect their citizens, but also to stop the contagion in the shortest possible time. The main ones were:
- Close the borders of each country, as well as suspend flights to Europe and Asia.
- The next measure, even more drastic than the suspension of the departure of the countries, was to implement quarantines in certain territories (China, Italy, Spain and a large part of Latin America).
- Most countries decided, as preventive measures, that citizens should stay home and go out only when strictly necessary.
- The only people who will continue to work will be health personnel, workers in supermarkets and pharmacies (to provide supplies to citizens) and state security bodies.
