Coronavirus. Just the word strikes fear into our hearts.
Novel coronavirus is the proper term for this brand-new virus wreaking havoc on our unprepared world.
But you can also call this nasty villain by its scientific name: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2 for short.
Becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 can trigger a potentially deadly respiratory disease called Covid-19, an illness which presents with three main acute symptoms: fever, a deep, dry cough and a shortness of breath which can become quickly life-threatening. Other symptoms can mimic a cold or the flu.
Covid-19 seems to strike the elderly and immunocompromised the hardest, along with any of us with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung disease. But the young shouldnt take anything for granted there have been numerous deaths among people aged 20 to 50, as well as a very few among children.
Covid-19 can also present with mild symptoms very similar to a typical cold or flu or no symptoms at all, which makes controlling the spread of the virus causing Covid-19 very difficult.
All viruses are like zombies they try to take over peoples bodies but they arent really alive. Outside the hosts body they are dormant, surviving without living. Once touched or inhaled and brought inside, their ancient machinery springs into action, using proteins to latch onto and invade human cells.
There they set up shop, producing millions of copies of themselves and causing those cells to rupture. Like the famous scene from the movie Alien, the viral offspring shoot out into the bloodstream, with the goal of invading more and more cells.
As they multiply, humans began to spit them out into the universe with each exhalation, making us contagious days before we begin to cough, sneeze or have diarrhea all symptoms the virus creates to ensure it can leap from human to human, thus ensuring its survival.
This virus zombie invasion comes in all sort of shapes, sizes and genetic strategies. All coronaviruses are covered with pointy spires of protein, giving them the appearance of having a crown or corona hence the name. Coronaviruses use these spikes to latch onto and pierce our cells.
Coronaviruses are part of the RNA brigade of viruses, which are much less stable than their DNA-based comrades. Why is that important? Because instability leads to mistakes in copying genetic code.
That leads to mutations thousands, millions, billions of mutations. Sooner or later, one mutation hits pay dirt and allows the virus to cross the great divide between different species. A few million/billion/trillion more mistakes creates another mutation that allows that virus to spread easily. Now the virus is both in its new host and it is contagious.
Its that type of mutation which gives humanity viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
The animal kingdom is teeming with coronaviruses. They are found in cats and dogs, pigs and cattle, turkey and chickens, mice, rats, rabbits and of course, humans. Insects too.
Some of those coronviruses can cross species, such as between pigs, cats and dogs, but for the most part coronaviruses stay loyal to their original hosts. Until, of course, they become that lucky mutation.
Usually viruses from one animal really dont effectively transmit to other animal species or even to people, said Dr. John Williams, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh.
So usually if a virus goes from an animal to a human, its sort of dead end. That person gets sick but it doesnt spread further, said Williams, who has studied coronaviruses for decades.
Besides the newly hatched novel coronavirus, there are actually six additional coronaviruses that infect humans four of them cause the common cold.
Two more can be deadly. MERS-CoV is the villian behind Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, which has killed over 800 people worldwide since it first appeared in 2012.
SARS-CoV causes a serious form of pneumonia that can also be life-threatening. Globally, it killed 774 people between 2002 and 2004. No other cases have been reported worldwide since. {To put that into context, the death toll of the novel coronavirus since it burst on the scene in December is approaching 40,000).
The coronaviruses that cause MERS and SARS are though to have crossed from mammals to humans, where they mutated to become contagious. MERS-CoV first appeared in Jordon and Saudi Arabia in 2012 and its thought to have crossed over to humans from dromedary camels in Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia.
MERS is extremely deadly, about 30% of people who are infected with MERS will die, Williams said. So the virus got over one of the barriers its able to infect humans, grow in them and cause disease but thankfully it really doesnt spread well person to person, other than very, very close contacts.
SARS has been more difficult to pin down.
Because one of the most common carriers for coronaviruses are bats, its thought that the virus may have started there. Then it supposedly mutated to the masked palm civet, a small cat-like mammal eaten in some parts of China. But even that theory is disputed.
SARS caused death in about 10% of people that became infected and it did spread person to person but not super effectively, Williams said. There werent many people walking around without symptoms or with mild symptoms, who could be spreading it.
This new virus, SARS-CoV-2, has overcome more barriers, Williams added. It spreads easily person to person and a lot of people can have either mild disease or they might not even have symptoms, yet they can have the virus and spread it.
The novel coronavirus appears to have originated in bats. A study published in February found the coronavirus found in bats shared 96% of the same genetic makeup as the novel coronavirus. But it wasnt a direct link, so the bat had to have infected another species, which then infected humans.
Early reports pointed to snakes bought at a wet market in China were people buy live animals to eat. A recent report of the initial cases of coronavirus in China debunks the snake flu theory, reporting that in 13 of the 41 early cases the infected patients had no link to the wet market.
A recent hypothesis claimed the intermediate host was the pangolin, an endangered scaly, ant-eating creature beloved for its meat and scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. But critics have been skeptical, sending genetic scientists back to their labs to continue the search.
At this time, scientists dont know where the novel coronavirus began.
These things are more difficult than [identifying] dinosaurs, because theres no fossil record of a virus, Williams said. For example, the main virus I study, human metapneumovirus, is clearly a virus that has circulated in humans for decades if not a few centuries.
However, when you look at the genetics of the virus, its closest genetic relative is a bird virus, he added. So, did that virus jump to humans way back and become established? Thats what we think. But it isnt impossible that a human virus jumped to birds and became established there.
See the original post here:
What is coronavirus and Covid-19? An explainer - KTVZ
- June 11th At Westport, CT: Federal Red Flags, HIPAA Security Rules and Fraud Prevention - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Do not learn Dvorak! - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- You Can’t Solve Problems By Making It Illegal To Have The Problem - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- A Force Fix for Healthcare - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Yahble, HIT, Bubblecon, BIZDEV!, Solid State - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- 15 things that suck about the Palm Pre - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- What an Indie Genomics Lab Looks Like - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Practice Fusion: Class D Felony? - February 26th, 2010 [February 26th, 2010]
- Practice Fusion Responds - March 7th, 2010 [March 7th, 2010]
- Practice Fusion: Do the math: $44,000 is a LIE - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- How Much Until Doctors Approve of 23andMe? - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Biochemicals as Media, Not Methods - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- More Practice Fusion Reality Distortion - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Same Test Results: 23andMe is Myriad is BRCA is Medicine - March 12th, 2010 [March 12th, 2010]
- BRCA is 23andMe is Myriad is Medicine - March 13th, 2010 [March 13th, 2010]
- Getting Serious About Genomics as Common Medical Practice - March 15th, 2010 [March 15th, 2010]
- The New John Mackey of Genetics: Linda Avey? - March 15th, 2010 [March 15th, 2010]
- Keep the Medical, Well, Medical - March 16th, 2010 [March 16th, 2010]
- If 23andMe shuts down, it won’t be for some mundane reason like the bills weren’t paid - March 16th, 2010 [March 16th, 2010]
- If I Run A Medical Practice, How Do I Use A 23andMe? - March 17th, 2010 [March 17th, 2010]
- 23andMe Contract in Bad Faith - March 19th, 2010 [March 19th, 2010]
- Doctors CANNOT Use 23andMe Due To 23andMe’s Bad Faith Contract - March 20th, 2010 [March 20th, 2010]
- Pathway Compared to 23andMe and Navigenics - March 22nd, 2010 [March 22nd, 2010]
- There’s a Word for “Views Differ” When One View Is The State - March 24th, 2010 [March 24th, 2010]
- Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. USPTO, et al. – Opinion - March 29th, 2010 [March 29th, 2010]
- Birth of a Super Villain - April 3rd, 2010 [April 3rd, 2010]
- “Medical Products” like 23andMe must not become the new “Financial Products” - April 4th, 2010 [April 4th, 2010]
- How I Would Apply Genomic Technology In Clinical Use Today - April 5th, 2010 [April 5th, 2010]
- Gmail Enterprise: World’s Best EMR - April 6th, 2010 [April 6th, 2010]
- Brief Primer on Health Law Compliance - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Spoiler: You ARE the “Valids” - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Rachel Lehmann-Haupt Line by Line Take Down - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Is Medicare Bankrupt? What the Hell Is Going On? - April 17th, 2010 [April 17th, 2010]
- The Big Shuffle: Medicare Cuts Rates by 21.3% (but not “technically”) - April 17th, 2010 [April 17th, 2010]
- “Tech Hiring Binge” == “Fear for Your Job, Nerds” - April 18th, 2010 [April 18th, 2010]
- How Bad is Bad? $.20 on the Private Medical Insurance Dollar - April 20th, 2010 [April 20th, 2010]
- Update: How Bad is Bad? It Used to Be $.45 on the Medical Insurance Dollar - April 20th, 2010 [April 20th, 2010]
- World’s Best “EMR” for $1000: Google Spreadsheets + iPad - April 21st, 2010 [April 21st, 2010]
- Don’t Insult Me with your “AOL Keyword” Strategy, Google Health - April 21st, 2010 [April 21st, 2010]
- How to Play LAWGAMES - April 23rd, 2010 [April 23rd, 2010]
- Top 4 Predatory Schemes Encroaching on American Medicine: Part 1 - April 25th, 2010 [April 25th, 2010]
- What’s the Big Deal About iPads? - April 27th, 2010 [April 27th, 2010]
- Got Google Android for Google I/O - April 27th, 2010 [April 27th, 2010]
- Google Enterprise meets HIPAA and HITECH Compliant Laws - April 29th, 2010 [April 29th, 2010]
- Pixels of Accuracy CHALENGE: Diagnostic Medical Imaging - April 29th, 2010 [April 29th, 2010]
- 23andMe Launder AlioGenetics Doesn’t Even Bother to Remove 23andMe Logo - April 30th, 2010 [April 30th, 2010]
- Anthem of CT Denies $600 Until “Subscriber Responds to our Coordination of Benefits Questionnaire” - May 1st, 2010 [May 1st, 2010]
- Apple And Google Team Up To Launch Revolutionary Mobile Health System - May 1st, 2010 [May 1st, 2010]
- Funny Pictures from This Year Building the Medical Practice - May 6th, 2010 [May 6th, 2010]
- Remote Medical Video Monitoring on iPad and iPhone - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Google Calendar Overhead Waiting Room Display - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Various Whiteboards on Solid State Medical Operations - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- The Raw Facts about Counsyl - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Brawndo: Still Mutilating Thirst, Still Not Yet Sold at the Stop-n-Shop Pharmacy - May 9th, 2010 [May 9th, 2010]
- Video: Google Enterprise to Outsource Medical Administration - May 9th, 2010 [May 9th, 2010]
- Gattaca: “The Matrix” of Genomics - May 11th, 2010 [May 11th, 2010]
- 23andMe Now Diagnoses Fatal Tay-Sachs Disease - May 12th, 2010 [May 12th, 2010]
- Why Was Pathway Targeted for FDA Enforcement and Not 23andMe? - May 15th, 2010 [May 15th, 2010]
- John Dolan on Aging and the Horrifying Conclusion of GWAS - May 16th, 2010 [May 16th, 2010]
- Sam R. Riley Wants To Tell You About Practice Fusion - May 17th, 2010 [May 17th, 2010]
- Response to “Genomic Medicine: Lost” - May 19th, 2010 [May 19th, 2010]
- Death And Taxes: CMS to IRS - May 19th, 2010 [May 19th, 2010]
- Please Stop Antagonizing the AMA - May 26th, 2010 [May 26th, 2010]
- Dan Vorhaus, Attorney At Law, Legally Advises Medical Doctors Can Use 23andMe To Provide Medical Advice - May 28th, 2010 [May 28th, 2010]
- Singularity Summit 2010 in San Francisco to Explore Intelligence Augmentation - June 7th, 2010 [June 7th, 2010]
- OpenPCR: DNA amplification for anyone - June 10th, 2010 [June 10th, 2010]
- FDA sends letters to 5 genetic testing companies - June 11th, 2010 [June 11th, 2010]
- Amazon And The NIH Team Up To Put Human Genome In The Cloud - March 31st, 2012 [March 31st, 2012]
- ReproSource Comments on New Study Linking Infertility to Genetics - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Genetics 101 Part 1: What are genes? - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Red Ice Radio - David Icke - Hour 1 - The Manipulation of Humanity - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Genetics Part 5: Human Genetic Disorders - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- C2CAM - The Nephilim, Genetic Manipulation - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Human Nature talk with Robert Sapolsky, Gabor Mate, James Gilligan, Richard Wilkinson - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Human Genetic Diseases - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Alien Scientist on Genetics, Implants - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Research and Markets: Genetics, 6th Edition International Student Version Continues To Educate Today's Students for ... - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Myriad Genetics to Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Health Care Conference - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Genetics may explain some people's dislike of meat - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- 'Blond Genes' May Vary Around the World - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]