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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