Coronavirus Continued…

A lot has happened with the coronavirus since my last blog post, so I’ll start with an update on the statistics. According to the most recent article from the Washington Post that I could find at the time of writing this blog post (February 6, 2020), more than 28,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in China compared to last week when only 8000 cases had been reported. More than 560 people have now died from the coronavirus, compared to just 200 people last week. People have also now been diagnosed with the coronavirus in 28 different countries, an increase of 10 compared to last week. Other updates regarding the coronavirus in the past week include the doctor who first warned people about this coronavirus, Li Wenliang, died from the disease. Plus, a cruise ship is being quarantined in Japan because of this virus, and 20 people on this ship, including 3 Americans, have tested positive for coronavirus.

               An article from Wall Street Journal explained what scientists are currently investigating to find out how the coronavirus is spreading in hopes to develop efficient methods to prevent this spread. The incubation period of the coronavirus can be anywhere between 3 and 14 days, so it is difficult to pinpoint where an infected person contracted the virus. A long incubation period like this also means that infected people can spread the virus to others before symptoms appear. An asymptomatic person would have no reason to limit their interactions with others, so this can make the virus spread more quickly. This asymptomatic, yet contagious, phase also prevents screening methods at certain checkpoints ineffective because someone may not have a fever, but still be carrying the virus. Scientists have also determined that the coronavirus can spread from an asymptomatic person to someone else if they are within 6 feet of each other. Each infected person spreads the virus to 2 or 3 other people on average, and the reproduction number of the coronavirus is estimated to be 2.2.               

An article from Scientific American explained how the anatomy of the coronavirus contributes to its virulence. Coronaviruses are enveloped, so the use of hand sanitizer and frequent hand washing are effective methods to kill the virus because these activities will destroy the virus’ envelope. This virus’ genome consists of single-stranded RNA, so mistakes during replication are common due to the lack of proofreading ability in RNA polymerase. These mutations mean that the virus can change by antigenic drift, and a vaccine will be difficult to develop against it. Some coronaviruses only cause a simple cold, and that is because they attach to the cells of the upper respiratory system. Other coronaviruses that can cause a more serious illness attach to the cells of the lower respiratory tract, and may lead to pneumonia.