What exactly is COVID-19?

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are known to infect both humans and animals, and in humans cause a respiratory illness that ranges from common colds/flu too much more serious infections. The most well-known case of a Coronavirus epidemic was Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which, after first being detected in southern China in 2002, went on to affect 26 countries and resulted in more than 8,000 cases and 774 deaths.

While the cause of the current outbreak was initially unknown, on January 7, 2020 Chinese health authorities identified that it was caused by a strain of coronavirus that hadn’t been encountered in humans before. Five days later the Chinese government shared the genetic sequence of the virus so that other countries could develop their own diagnostic kits. That virus is now called Sars-CoV-2 according to WHO.

Although symptoms are often mild i.e. the most common symptoms are a fever and dry cough – in some cases, they lead to the more serious respiratory tract illness including pneumonia and bronchitis. These can be particularly dangerous in older patients, or people who have existing health conditions and this appears to be the case with COVID-19.

A study of 44,415 early Chinese COVID-19 patients found that 81 per cent of people with confirmed infections experienced only mild symptoms. Of the remaining cases, 14 per cent were in a severe condition while five per cent of people were critical cases, suffering from respiratory failure, septic shock or multiple organ failure.

The risk of death has been difficult to calculate, as it relies on accurate numbers of those who have symptoms but survive. A study of people who contracted COVID-19 in Wuhan suggests that the risk of death increases with age, and is also higher for those who have diabetes, disease, blood clotting problems, or have shown signs of sepsis. 
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