Things You Should Know About the Novel Coronavirus

10 Things You Should Know About the Novel Coronavirus_M5N7T2

When a new health crisis emerges, it pays to be informed. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down the 10 Things You Should Know About the Novel Coronavirus.

For this list, we’ll be looking at key pieces of information pertaining to this viral outbreak, with the goal of helping you put the novel coronavirus in context, avoid unnecessary panic and take whatever measures you need to in order to minimize risks.

#10: What Is a Coronavirus?

If you’re concerned about something, the best thing that you can do is get informed. And when it comes to matters of health, a lot of sensationalism and fear-mongering tends to occur. So let’s start by demystifying the novel coronavirus. There isn’t one single coronavirus out there, but rather an entire family of viruses that are actually quite common. Most of them aren’t particularly threatening to humans; symptoms typically amount to little more than a cold, or at worst a respiratory infection requiring medication. Unfortunately, every now and then a strain comes along that’s especially effective at spreading between humans and involves life-threatening symptoms. Two such coronaviruses from the last 20 years are SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome).

#9: Where Did It Start?

The scientific name for this specific coronavirus is 2019-nCoV. However, it’s more commonly being referred to as the Novel Coronavirus or the Wuhan Coronavirus - a reference to its reported place of origin, the city of Wuhan, China. 2019-nCoV is believed to have initially broken out at a seafood and live animal market. It’s incredibly difficult to pinpoint the exact source of a coronavirus, but in studying the genetic sequence of the virus, the scientific community first pointed to a snake as the most likely culprit, before turning their attention to bats - a species known for spreading viruses. Though bats may have been involved, the viral video showing a woman eating bat soup (allegedly in Wuhan) has nothing to do with this outbreak - that was filmed in Palau.

#8: What Are The Symptoms?

In a perfect world, any particularly grave illness would have hyper-distinct symptoms that make it easy to identify. Unfortunately, the Novel Coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that result in extremely common cold-like symptoms. As such, when 2019-nCoV does begin to show itself, it does so by checking the lowest common denominator boxes: coughing, fever, and shortness of breath. These are symptoms which are common to most upper respiratory infections. From there, however, 2019-nCoV can become a lower respiratory infection - resulting in pneumonia. Some patients also experience nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

#7: How Does It Spread?

Coronaviruses are spread via the respiratory system - ie. sneezing and coughing. This is one of the few things that the scientific community can say with certainty about this outbreak. Since coronaviruses struggle to survive outside of a host, you also really shouldn’t be too concerned about transmission via packages from China. What has complicated its spread, however, is the mystery surrounding its incubation period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can’t pinpoint a timeline, saying that it could be anywhere between 2 and 14 days. On January 29th, a new study suggested an average incubation of approximately five days, but no one can seem to agree. Most troubling is that 2019-nCoV may be transmissible even before a host shows symptoms.

#6: How Do You Protect Yourself?

Whenever there’s a viral outbreak, the rules are always pretty much the same - practice good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Be extra diligent when navigating public spaces like bathrooms and mass transit. As much as possible, avoid unnecessary contact between your hands, eyes and mouth unless you’ve just washed your hands. And if someone is showing signs of illness, avoid close contact. Because it’s a respiratory virus, people have been clearing surgical masks from store shelves, but since these tend to be loose-fitting, you should consider them a preventative measure rather than a guarantee of protection. The coronavirus’ level of contagiousness is debated, ranging from 1.4 to 5.5 newly infected people per host.

#5: What's the Course of Treatment?

Unfortunately, there currently isn’t a vaccine available with which to stop the Novel Coronavirus in its tracks. Worse yet, there are no viable antiviral treatments which have proven effective in combating those already infected with 2019-nCoV. What we’re saying is… there isn’t really a treatment for the time being. And so in lieu of one, healthcare providers are alleviating the symptoms of patients and providing support to their immune systems however possible, including (in severe cases) supporting vital organ function. The immune system is capable of fighting off the virus, and hospitalization gives the body access to the best resources with which to heal itself.

#4: Where Has It Spread?

One of the scariest things about the Novel Coronavirus is how quickly it spread. Though it feels like it’s been much longer, this only began in December 2019. By December 18, there were at least eight cases. By January 2, this jumped to 41. Despite quarantines, the virus soon spread to all provinces of China. As of January 31, there were well over 9,000 confirmed infections and more than 200 fatalities. Unfortunately, Wuhan is a major port city, and because of our increased global mobility, cases of 2019-nCoV have now been confirmed in 20 other countries - touching Australia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Thankfully, in places where only a few cases have been reported, the likelihood of transmission remains low.

#3: Is It Fatal?

To date, the Novel Coronavirus has proven far less deadly than similar viral outbreaks. The fatality rate of SARS, for example, was 9.6%. MERS, a more efficient killer, reached 34.4%. To date, the estimated fatality rate of the Wuhan Coronavirus is just 2%. Most often, 2019-nCoV proves fatal in patients with existing pulmonary conditions. And so, as it stands right now, it’s assumed that the majority of people infected with the virus will eventually recover. In fact, a number of patients have already recovered in China, Australia, Japan, and Thailand. But... if the spread can’t be contained, even a 2% fatality rate could prove devastating.

#2: Is It A Global Emergency?

On January 30th, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the Novel Coronavirus to be a “global health emergency”. What does this mean? It’s essentially an acknowledgement that the situation has become an international concern. It also serves to encourage nations (both those affected and unaffected) to take necessary precautions and/or measures to combat the outbreak. The WHO doesn’t put into place any enforceable measures, but they do make strong recommendations. In the case of 2019-nCoV, it’s not China’s handling of the outbreak that prompted this declaration, but rather concern about it spreading to “other countries with weaker health systems”. For context, this is the sixth such emergency that the WHO has declared, with the first occurring in 2009.

#1: When Will There Be a Vaccine?

One of the most pressing questions is how long it will take the international scientific community to develop and deploy a vaccine. And unfortunately, that’s also one of the most difficult questions to answer. Chinese scientists released the genome of the virus to encourage international efforts, and teams around the world have responded by working at a feverish pace. Optimistic researchers hope to test a vaccine in a matter of months, and to have it deployed by mid-2020. But more pragmatic minds suggest that we should be prepared to wait much longer. SARS took 20 months just to bring to trial, and some researchers are predicting that it will be closer to a year before a 2019-nCoV vaccine will be ready for human trial.