"A DEADLY GLOBAL VIRUS"

A DEADLY GLOBAL DISEASE

Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can be mild, such as some cases of the common cold (among other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), and others that can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms in other species vary: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhea. There are yet to be vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human corona virus infections.

Corona-viruses constitute the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales, and realm Riboviria. They are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleoside of helical symmetry. The genome size of corona-viruses ranges from approximately 27 to 34 kilobases, the largest among known RNA viruses.The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "halo", which refers to the characteristic appearance reminiscent of a crown or a solar corona around the virions (virus particles) when viewed under two-dimensional transmission electron microscopy, due to the surface being covered in club-shaped protein spikes.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

In 2003, following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which had begun the prior year in Asia, and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that a novel coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the causative agent for SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). More than 8,000 people were infected, about ten percent of whom died.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

In September 2012, a new type of coronavirus was identified, initially called Novel Coronavirus 2012, and now officially named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The World Health Organization issued a global alert soon after. The WHO update on 28 September 2012 said the virus did not seem to pass easily from person to person. However, on 12 May 2013, a case of human-to-human transmission in France was confirmed by the French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.In addition, cases of human-to-human transmission were reported by the Ministry of Health in Tunisia. Two confirmed cases involved people who seemed to have caught the disease from their late father, who became ill after a visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Despite this, it appears the virus had trouble spreading from human to human, as most individuals who are infected do not transmit the virus.By 30 October 2013, there were 124 cases and 52 deaths in Saudi Arabia.

After the Dutch Erasmus Medical Centre sequenced the virus, the virus was given a new name, Human Coronavirus–Erasmus Medical Centre (HCoV-EMC). The final name for the virus is Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). In May 2014, the only two United States cases of MERS-CoV infection were recorded, both occurring in healthcare workers who worked in Saudi Arabia and then travelled to the U.S. One was treated in Indiana and one in Florida. Both were hospitalized temporarily and then discharged.

In May 2015, an outbreak of MERS-CoV occurred in the Republic of Korea, when a man who had traveled to the Middle East, visited 4 hospitals in the Seoul area to treat his illness. This caused one of the largest outbreaks of MERS-CoV outside the Middle East. As of December 2019, 2,468 cases of MERS-CoV infection had been confirmed by laboratory tests, 851 of which were fatal, a mortality rate of approximately 34.5%.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of corona-virus, which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Some researchers have suggested that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market may not be the original source of viral transmission to humans.

As of 28 March 2020, there have been at least 27,333 confirmed deaths and more than 595,953 confirmed cases in the coronavirus pneumonia pandemic. The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with approximately 70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV. The virus has a 96% similarity to a bat coronavirus, so it is widely suspected to originate from bats as well.The pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions and nationwide lockdowns in several countries.

These two counties has situation out of control after the incubation period of the virus. while in INDIA ,

The total number of Coronavirus positive cases in India has gone up to 873 even as the country is witnessing a 21-day ‘complete lockdown’. As per the latest data provided by the Union Ministry of Health, the death toll due to COVID-19 is 19 in India and 79 people have been cured/discharged The Union government has allayed fears saying that there was no “hard evidence” to state that stage-3 of Coronavirus has begun. With an aim to help mitigate the needs of poor people, the central government has announced Rs 1.70 lakh crore financial package. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced a slew of measures to ease the burden of people in the country.

According to the latest data provided by the Union Health Ministry, the total number of active coronavirus positive cases at 9.30 am today was 873. In a silver lining, 73 patients have been cured or discharged or migrated. The number of deaths due to Coronavirus in India has gone up to  19. Over 170 countries across the world are under the clutch of the deadly Coronavirus with the death toll of over 21,000. More than 471,518 cases have been reported, as per data.

Experts have asked people to stay at home, to not venture out on roads unless it’s absolutely necessary and to not believe in rumours, and don’t panic.