The Novel Coronavirus is happening and spreading rapidly throughout the world right now. According the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website, there are many different types of coronaviruses that cause respiratory infections. These infections range from colds to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The novel coronavirus (nCoV-2019) was first reported in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China and has now spread all over the world including reported cases in the United States, Sweden, Thailand, Spain, and many more according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This spread has been reported to be from traveling from Wuhan, China. Coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses and this means that they are transmitted between animals and humans according to the WHO. The novel corona virus has been found to stem from bats and the full genome of the virus has been mapped.
The novel coronavirus has been found to be a betacoronavirus, similar to SARS and MERS, as described by the CDC. A research study published in The Lancet on January 24, 2020 confirmed the transmission of the novel coronavirus from person to person and not only from animal to person. These researchers were able to study a family that had traveled to Wuhan and then came into contact with another family member that had not be to Wuhan and that family member also became infected with the novel coronavirus. Person to person transmission is defined by the CDC as through respiratory droplets of an infected person leave their body in coughs or sneezes. The CDC reports that the symptoms of nCoV-2019 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath and it has an incubation period of 2-14 days.
The CDC has last updated information on the novel coronavirus on January 31, 2020 and has confirmed cases in the United States in Arizona, California, Illinois, and Washington. This outbreak is extremely important to stay up to date on because prevention is fundamental to stop the spread of this virus that we do not have a vaccination for at this time. The CDC has provided precautions for the general public and for health care providers but I think it should be discussed more in schools and colleges. I knew how diseases spread but I did not truly understand until my first or second microbiology class and this information needs to be available to everyone, not just those who are able to take microbiology. In a crisis such as an outbreak it is extremely important to protect yourself and others from potential spread of disease and to contain the disease for further study.
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