An overview on COVID-19 and Coronavirus pandemic.

Coronaviruses:

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large family of viruses, infectious to animals and humans. To date, several CoVs have been reported to cause respiratory illness in humans ranging from mild illnesses like common cold to lethal infections like Middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). CoVs are zoonotic in nature and likely to cross species barrier upon adaptations, infecting animals to humans or vice versa. Similar to most of known viruses causing respiratory illnesses in humans, CoVs also display strainness and the recent coronavirus causing COVID-19 is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. This coronavirus, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) is genetically related to previously reported CoV, responsible for SARS outbreak in 2002-03, but the diseases etiologies are different from each other. COVID-19, as reported is more infectious but less deadly than SARS in general.

Global Map showing highlighted territories with confirmed COVID-19 Cases. (Photo source: CDC website)

COVID-19:

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by coronavirus (or SARS-CoV2, precisely). COVID stands for COronaVIrus Disease, and 19 represents the year when the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 is largely an upper respiratory tract infection with mild to elevated symptoms including fever, tiredness, dry cough, shortness of breath and related breathing complications. Symptoms vary among people depending on their age, immunity, prior illnesses, or hygiene practices and cannot be generalized due to overlap with common cold or flu symptoms. Some people may not develop any symptoms even after infections, but few may show additional symptoms such as body ache, muscle pain, nasal congestion, sore throat or diarrhea.  Regardless of mild or severe symptoms, majority of people (4 out of 5) tends to recover without any special treatment. Since COVID-19 is difficult to distinguish from common cold and flu (see table Below) symptomatically, people with fever, cough or sore throat should seek medical advice for confirmation.

Comparative analysis of COVID-19, Flu and Common Cold symptoms:

COVID-19 has so far been reported to cause complications to elderly, immunocompromised or people with pre-exsting medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes or kidney issues and among them COVID-19 illness can be elevated to severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, organ failure and even death.  

Transmission:

Infected person to others through coughs, exhalations and sneezes. A secondary route of fecal-oral transmission is also suspected but not predominant. There is no report on transmission of COVID-19 between common pets (cats, dogs) and humans. Similarly, catching the virus from a package that was touched by an infected person and was under shipping through days is also less likely. 

Above mentioned facts limit the possibility of coronavirus transmissions largely from human to human, that too by direct contact of nasal/oral fluids. The small droplets from nose/mouth of infected person can land on surfaces for hours and other people can catch the virus by touching these surfaces followed by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Studies suggest that coronavirus can survive from hours to days, depending on type, temperature and humidity level of the surface. Disinfecting surfaces, routinely cleaning the hands and avoid touching the eyes, mouth or nose can limit the possibility of contact with the virus. Pets are deemed safe; the possible animal source of COVID-19 if any, has not been identified. To be on safe side, avoid any direct contact with animals or surfaces contact with animals. Handle raw meat, animal produce and organs with caution and avoid consuming raw or undercooked animal products. 

Chances of infections, and concerns if infected:

Except for the people living in areas under COVID-19 outbreaks, others have very low chances of catching the virus. In fact, 1-meter distance from a potentially sick person is considered safe. Having said that, the precaution must be taken because the infectivity of COVID-19 is very high and its origin, cofactors and long-term consequences are still not known. To some extent human mobility always a factor behind recent infectious outbreaks; for people living in, or visiting those areas reported for COVID-19 are at high risk of catching the disease and further disseminate to newer territories. The restriction on travel and gatherings by Chinese government have helped them to achieve some success in containment of COVID-19.  

Illness:

Illness due to COVID-19 infections is mild and can be considered ‘not alarming’, especially for children, young adults and healthy people. Post-exposure, COVID-19 may take 5-14 days to be symptomatic or remain asymptomatic at all. So far, the COVID-19 is causing trouble only for elderly, persons with pre-existing medical issues and as consequence; only 1 out of 5 infected people need hospital care. 

Medications:

Antibiotics don’t work against the viruses and hence viral infections including coronaviruses can be difficult to handle.  There is no vaccine or antiviral medicine to prevent or treat COVID-19. While some western, traditional or household remedies may be useful to alleviate COVID-19 common symptoms, they don’t act against the virus or cure the disease. 

Protective Measures:

Hygiene: 

1. The most effective measure against COVID-19 or any infectious disease is maintaining high standards of hygiene. 
2. Frequently wash hands or sanitize with an alcohol-based lotion.
3. Maintain safe distance (1 meter or 3 feet) from potentially sick person (coughing, sneezing or breathing heavily).
4. Avoid contacting eyes, mouth and nose with unwashed hands.
5. Cover mouth and nose when cough and sneeze. 
6. Avoid gatherings, stay home if feel unwell- fever, cough, breathing difficulties.

Masks: 

Wear mask ONLY if you are sure of COVID-19 infection, or in contact with someone with infection. Don’t reuse disposable masks.

Updates on outbreak (Source: World Health Organization, COVID-19 report-51): 

There are 118326 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally with 4292 deaths. Among them, 80,955 infections and 3162 deaths have been reported from China itself. Outside China, 37,371 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1130 deaths have been reported.  Considering the alarming rates of spread and severity, WHO officially characterized COVID-19 as pandemic. 

Figure below, depicts the countries and areas with confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases (Source WHO, March 11, 2020)

Data on selected countries outside China with confirmed COVID-19 cases and death (Source: WHO, March 11, 2020)

What no to do:

1. Avoid spreading rumors.
2. Avoid self-medication including antibiotics.
3. Alcoholic beverages actually interfere with immune responses. Taking alcohol will not help. 
4. Smoking; you cannot decontaminate lungs with smoking; obviously not the best idea when lungs are in trouble. 
5. Wearing multiple masks, sharing masks or hoarding masks for future (!)

Resources: Information and Data provided by World Health Organization and Central for Disease Control and Prevention.

Picture courtesy: WHO, CDC and Unsplash.com; Unsplash photos from Macau photo agency for Unsplash, and Photo by L N for Unsplash.

[Saurabh Srivastava is a research scientist at the University of California San Diego. He acquired more than 12 years of research experience in the multidisciplinary fields of Sialic acid biology, Peptide-based antibiotic approaches, and Prion neurodegeneration, resulting in probe developments, lead-molecule generations, and studies on pathophysiological mechanisms. He published several research articles in prestigious journals and reviewed 100+ manuscripts for internationally circulated PubMed indexed journals. His current interests are sialic acid properties of microbial proteins and other natural small molecules.]