COVID-19 stands for the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease. The word coronavirus refers to spikes seen (under a microscope) on the surface of the virus (corona is the Latin word for crown). It is also called a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak that occurred in 2003. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus, which means it had its origins in bats. It is also known as Wuhan pneumonia. It was first identified in 2019 from Wuhan, China in late November or early December from where it spread globally. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic as it is likely to spread globally.
Symptoms associated with the disease.
The most common symptom observed among patients who got infected with the virus is fever. Besides high temperature, the person may also experience fatigue, runny rose, and dry cough. Abdominal pain and diarrhea have also been reported sometimes. Muscle pain and difficulty in breathing was also noticed in 1/3rd persons suffering from this disease. A person on day 1 has a fever, experience fatigue, muscle pain, and dry cough. By day 5th the patient experiences difficulty in breathing, and by day 8th they develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It takes about 17 days for a person to recover fully from the disease. Thus young and healthy people may not get the disease, but they may still spread the disease.
Age groups at risk.
Elderly people above 60 years of age are most at risk according to the data collected by the World Health Organisation. The highest death rate was observed in the people who were above 80 years old. Besides elderly people suffering from chronic conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, cancer is more susceptible than others. Only a few children in China developed the disease, probably because they have a strong immune system, although they might act as a carrier of the disease.
Know the different stages of the spread of the virus.
Stage 1 (Imported Cases): these include all those people who have traveled abroad to virus-hit foreign countries and are tested positive. There is no local transmission in this case.
Stage 2 (Local Transmission): this stage includes the local transmission of the virus from the infected person. At present India is in the second stage of coronavirus transmission. In this stage, very few people are infected, we know thus a source of the virus transmission.
Stage 3 (Community Transmission): It is the stage of community transmission and it is difficult to identify the source of virus transmission and thus large areas of the country gets affected. It occurs when a patient who is not exposed to any infected person or has not traveled to any affected country is tested positive.
Stage 4 (Epidemic): This is the last and the worst stage where the disease takes the form of an epidemic and many people become get infected at this stage.
Protective measures against the disease, as suggested by WHO.
1.Frequent washing of hands either with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand rub. It helps to kill the viruses on the hands.
2.Social distancing: A distance of about 1metre or 3 feet needs to be maintained between two persons, this prevents the transmission of the virus. When a person coughs or sneezes the small liquid droplets released in the air contain a virus, a person can inhale that thus social distancing is essential.
3. Avoid contact with mouth, nose, and eyes. When we touch any surface with our hands, we may pick up the virus and hence we may get infected by the virus via our mouth, nose or eyes.
4.The practice of good respiratory hygiene: always cover your mouth or nose by means of bent elbow or tissue to prevent the transmission of the virus. The used tissue should be disposed of immediately. Also, clean your hands by using either alcohol-based hand rub or using soap and water.
5. Seek medical advice if you are suffering from fever, dry cough and have difficulty breathing.
6. Any person who has recently visited any place where COVID-19 is spreading should remain in isolation and avoid contact with others and should seek medical advice immediately if symptoms like fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing happen.
A disinfectant can also be used to disinfect doorknobs, light switches, desks, keyboards, sinks, toilets and cell phones which are most frequently touched. CDC recommends the use of a face mask for people suffering from COVID-19 and for health care workers and other people in direct contact with them. The masks only provide moderate protection against the virus as they provide some filtration of the air. Voluntary social distancing is also important, and we should avoid large crowds.
Remember, “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”.
