Coronavirus is everywhere.
Well it is in the news everywhere at least…
It is continuing to spread across China and the world over, with reported cases as far
as Australia and the United States.
More than 60,000 people are now confirmed to have it, and over 1,300 people have died.
So how worried should we really be?
Has it spread to your country?
Was it really caused by this thing?
(insert pic of pangolin) Can it be contained?
What on earth is happening on that infected cruise ship?
And can you hold your breath from now until the 1 minute 30 mark of this video!?
Find out why at the end of the video.
So number update.
The current toll at the time of writing is 60,376 confirmed cases, with 1,369 deaths.
Deaths per day hit a current high on Wednesday 12th February with 255 deaths, all from China.
Outside of China only 2 deaths (NOW 3) have been reported overall.
Of the total amount of confirmed infections, nearly all have been diagnosed in China, with
just under 500 coming from other countries, the highest outside of Asia being Australia,
Germany and the USA.
The USA currently has 13 infected people.
One interesting development is a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan with 3,700
passengers has the most cases of Coronavirus outside of China.
The Diamond princess has confirmed 174 people (now 219) have the virus with at least 20
of them being American.
The whole ship is quarantined off the coast of Yokohama for the time being, and it accounts
for a third of all new cases outside of China.
Lets bring an update on its origins.
The 2019 novel coronavirus has just been given its official name.
Drum roll please.
It is now officially called COVID-19 or corona virus disease 19.
It is part of a larger family of viruses also known as coronaviruses, that cause illness,
which could be in the form of a cold or more serious respiratory diseases.
The word corona in latin means crown and is used as the virus has crown like projections
on its protein shell that encases its genetic material.
Other coronaviruses include the SARS virus and MERS virus.
There has been a widely discredited theory about it being snake flu and also one conspiracy
theory from Russia’s channel one linking it to Donald Trump, and US intelligence or
pharmaceutical companies.
But disregarding these ‘bat crazy’ theories the research is starting to point to this.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, which means they spread between animals and humans.
SARS was spread by bats to Civet cats to humans and MERS from Dromedary camels to humans
Researchers in China have suggested that this Pokémon, Sandshrew, oops sorry, I mean this
scaly ant eating mammal, called a pangolin are the likely source of the new virus outbreak.
This cute looking thing is actually the most trafficked animal in the world unfortunately,
humans really are jerks ay.
They count for around 20% of illegal wildlife trade.
This is because in some parts of Asia their meat is considered a delicacy and in traditional
Chinese medicine Their scales, are thought to neutralize witchcraft and evil spirits,
and treat ailments such as skin diseases, menstrual disorders and arthritis, even though
their scales are made out keratin, just like human hair.
Chinese law states that people selling pangolins can be punished by 10 years or more in prison,
yet it still happens.
The virus’s genetic sequence has been found in Pangolins and is 99% similar to that found
in humans.
It is thought that the original host of the virus is from bats, with the pangolin as a
carrier host that could of caught the virus If bat feces, a.k.a Guano, or saliva came
into contact with food that is consumed by a pangolin.
The virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and is thought to have spread to humans from
a seafood and wild animal market in the city, where many of the first humans became infected.
This could of been from Pangolin meat or excrement.
How it infects you Ok so how does it infect you?
The virus is concentrated in the respiratory route, or the nose and lungs.
A human with the virus can pass it on via droplets from sneezing, coughing or exhaling
just like the flu.
But unlike the flu there is no current vaccine.
How deadly is it really?
It is far from the ‘apocalyptic impending doom for humanity unless we stop it now’
that mainstream news would make us believe.
It is serious yes, the 60,000 cases documented is probably far higher as people with minor
symptoms would not have been diagnosed, but with that the morality rate of 2% would go
down further.
To put it into context, the flu has a yearly morality rate of under 1% killing 400,000
people a year, and the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003 had a death rate of over 10% and killed 774
people.
Previous strains of the virus and similar viruses are more common in winter months and
it is hoped with warmer weather cases will also drop.
Symptoms Symptoms are akin to the cold and flu with
the most common being • Fever
• fatigue • A dry cough
• Muscle pain • Difficulty breathing
In more severe cases, it can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and kidney
failure.
People who are ending up in hospital are usually those with a lower immune system, generally
people over 40.
Most people’s immune systems are strong enough to fight off the virus, but the people
dying are normally older and have underlying health problems that weakens their immune
system and unable to fight off the virus.
How it is treated There is no cure, just like the flu and rest,
hydration and over the counter painkillers is all you can do.
Precautions Standard infection preventions apply.
Regular hand washing, avoiding warm cuddles and close contact with anyone showing serious
symptoms.
A face mask is recommended in highly infected areas, and if you don’t have one and someone
coughs, hold your breath and run away until your face turns purple……
So how long did you or can you hold your breath for then?
Really that long?
Well we just wanted to test you really, and we are ever so proud.
Go you.
Leave a comment with how long it was, winner gets a penguin in the post.
Make sure you Hit subscribe and the bell icon now, leave a like to get the video shown to
a wider audience, and thank you, science is beautiful, viruses and fake news are not.
Love you.