COVID-19
What is COVID-19 virus?
- It comes from a large family of corona viruses.
- It is a novel virus. A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans
-Covid-19 can cause a range of illnesses in human from common cold to severe respiratory diseases.
How it looks like?
It looks like it has crown like spikes.
How do corona viruses appear?
- Some corona viruses are common in animals and other in humans.
-Rarely people get infected from an animal, but there are cases like the current ones which include SARS (Severe acute Respiratory Syndrome), which came from Civet cats and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), from Dromedary camels.
- Both MERS and SARS cause severe disease in humans.
Where the new type of corona virus came from?
- COVID- 19 was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019.
- Cases associated from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale market in Wuhan, it still not clear from which animal it came from.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus infection?
- Coronaviruses are respiratory viruses replicating in the airways (respiratory track).
- Symptoms of the infection can be mild, like the common cold including a runny nose, cough and can produce breathing difficulties. Some people become seriously ill. Around 1 in 6 people develop difficulty breathing.
- Some people are infected but show no symptoms (are asymptomatic).
- Common symptoms reported are fever, tiredness and cough in the UK.
- There is no concrete evidence who is affected the most, however the elderly and individuals with underlying health problems are more prone to complications.
How can we measure the severity of the disease?
CFR (Case Fatality Rate) is a measure of cases who die from the condition, which indicate the severity of the condition.
- For MERS: 37%
- For SARS: 10%
- For COVID-19: around 2% (as of February 2020)
Transmitted via:
- Droplets (larger particles>5 um, travel under 1m).
- Aerosols (small particles > 5um travel 1m) still under investigation.
- Contact (objects that have been infected with droplets and the touching of eyes, nose or mouth).
Prevention:
- Wash hands
- Maintain distance
- Avoid touching hands or mouth
The above prevention measurements are still under development and might change
What specimens should be taken for testing?
For molecular diagnostic testing for SARS CoV-2 causing COVID-19, current United Kingdom guidelines are to collect and test the following:
Upper respiratory tract specimens: nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs.
Lower respiratory tract specimens: sputum, if possible, for those patients with a productive cough, or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)
For patients who have been admitted to hospital: collect blood samples All specimens collected in clinics without laboratories need to be packaged and sent to a central or reference laboratory which has the reagents and equipment to perform testing for evidence of COVID-19 disease.
Why quarantine?
Studies in Germany and China has shown that individuals who were in touch with COVID- 19 patients during the incubation period can get the disease. Therefore, transmission can happen during the incubation period and with those with symptoms.
-Maximum incubation period gives maximum time of quarantine following exposure.
-Transmission can occur before symptoms.
- Cannot rely on screening of symptomatic cases to detect those who may transmit.
-Quarantine needs to involve asymptomatic exposed people as well as symptomatic.
There is no current cure for COVID- 19. Nothing has been proven to be effective.
Research Date: 20/ 02/2020