Jean Daniel Colombani
19/03/2020
Do you think America created Coronavirus, as speculated by some, to hit China’s economy, or vice versa, based on the economic war between them?
It’s a global emergency! Cities are being closed down, hundreds of thousands of people are being infected, thousands of victims, their numbers are multiplying every day. It spreads from country to country, sweeps the economy, and its reputation grows… It has already devastated China, it is sweeping Iran, Italy, it is threatening Europe and the entire world. No one is safe.
How many millions of people will this Coronavirus kill?
The “Spanish Flu” pandemic in 1918 infected a third of the world’s population and killed an estimated 50 million people; more than the victims of the first world war. The pandemic is the worst kind of crisis, but people, putting aside their differences, are joining forces in order to get rid of it.
Today, something that is 5 million times smaller than you is able to cause curfews and force you indoors. A unique reason in the history of mankind. It was this that confined over sixty million people in China alone and imposed a total curfew from China to Iran, Italy and elsewhere. It was this that caused thousands of deaths and infected hundreds of thousands of people. It is the new coronavirus “2019 novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2”.
To understand the problem, let’s go back in time to December 2002. Before this point in time, science was dealing with similar cases such as the so-called coronary heart disease, a virus that causes chills, and it is necessary to stay at home and administer warm infusions for recovery. But this romantic story will end with it transforming into a ruthless serial killer. We are talking about SARS, or “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome”. SARS appeared in Northern China and spread around the world in just 3 weeks. This virus infected about 8000 people and killed over 800 people in 32 countries.
Now let’s move on to 2012 where Egyptian doctor Muhammad Ali Zachariah revealed the emergence of a new virus in the Saudi city of Jeddah; a virus that resembles SARS, but does not spread as easily in the community. However, the mortality rate was very high. The new condition was dubbed “Middle East acute respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV)”, which infected 1500 people and killed 800…
MERS and SARS resemble the new virus (Coronavirus) in one thing, its source. Viruses started in the wild, spread to animals, then transformed into zoonotic diseases, and were transmitted to humans. In Coronavirus’ case, it appeared in the seafood market; while people who had visited Wuhan, China, say that seafood, poultry and rabbits are illegally sold in cages.
According to a study published in the prestigious American university journal Jama, it cannot be said with certainty whether the viruses transferred from animals to humans have always been the problem. Along with SARS, MERS and Coronavirus, there are other examples, such as HIV, EBOLA and Bird Flu, and early research results show that the new source of Coronavirus is bats.
Symptoms of Coronavirus
Viruses are pathogens that are very small, so small that the bacteria themselves cannot perceive them when they enter the human body.
During their exit from the cells, the body’s immune system is triggered, in order to resist the infection, causing the first symptoms of the disease. Nausea, diarrhea and shortness of breath are all symptoms of a common cold. But in the case of Coronavirus there are either no symptoms at or they are very mild?
other times, there is a feeling of pressure or congestion. Symptoms of nasal congestion and sore throat do go away eventually, but in severe cases, the issue continues for approximately two weeks, and may even lead to death.
Who can get sick from the Coronavirus?
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the approximate data of seventy-two thousand cases, it has been confirmed that the Coronavirus has an average effect on more than 80 percent of people, just like the common flu. In 14 percent of people the situation is less dangerous, while in 5 percent the cases are serious and require a critical assessment of the situation.
There are two main factors related to high risk caused by Coronavirus. Those are heart and vascular diseases (high blood pressure – heart failure, blood sugar), and age. Under 40 years of age, mortality is very low (0.2%), and the risk increases with age. As far as children are concerned, no deaths have been reported thus far.
The Treatment for Coronavirus
So far, by the looks of things, there are experiments from various research centres, however, there is no vaccine or drug against Coronavirus. Don’t expect anything from pharmacies, the only treatment available is isolation and the ban of gatherings, to break the chain of transmission. Have you thought about why we don’t hear anything about SARS anymore? As the movement of populations stopped, the virus also stopped, its transfer by animals remaining, in conditions that allow it.
This is what all countries in the world are presently doing, in order to stop the virus from spreading to large numbers of citizens: prohibit movement on many levels. And according to the World Health Organization, Coronavirus is a pandemic.
The future of Coronavirus
Now you might be wondering, what is the future of Coronavirus? Will it continue to spread, and will it still exist in our community? How many will be infected by it, and how many will die? On the 27th of January, the number of infected people worldwide was 76 thousand, and today it is more than 300 thousand. And based on statistics that researchers from the University of London have produced, the Coronavirus may infect over 500 thousand people in hot regions, and millions of people in a few months.
This is the optimistic possibility. But the worst thing is that it had the ability to infect 650 million in China alone.
End of Coronavirus
Coronavirus may be stopped during the summer, based on the fact that similar viruses cease when the temperatures are high. Unfortunately it is not confirmed, as “MERS”, from the same category of viruses, infected people during the August heat in Saudi Arabia. At the end of the day, the Coronavirus may continue its existence, and may become a form of seasonal winter flu in China, or around the world. So far, researchers all over the globe (in the USA, France, Germany, Japan and the Chinese military biological centre) have been given the opportunity of conducting tests and experiments to try and find antibodies, vaccines and drugs. Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) managed to get to the DNA sequence that produced one of the significant proteins responsible for the virus’ ability to infect humans. This presents a future possibility, in which a new vaccine that has been discovered a few months prior is able to prevent it from attaching to human cells.
However, at the time this article was written, all of the possibilities that can be brought out by a drug or vaccine are on the table. It could turn out in a way that is similar to the flu cases that killed a million people in each of the epidemics of 1957 and 1968, or it could turn out in a way where nothing happens.
That’s why you need to be very careful.
How can you avoid Coronavirus?
There is a set of very effective measures that can help protect your life. According to the study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the infection, outside of China, can be reduced by 70%. Start by washing your hands with soap several times and for 20 seconds at a time. Just so you know, this is something that one-third of the population generally does not do. Avoid meeting places as much as possible. Avoid touching your face, eyes and nose all the time… And if you get sick, don’t leave the house.
Panic
The most dangerous advisor is panic. Citizens in the USA, France, England and Italy, for example, rushed to the markets to stock up on various goods in the face of an upcoming disaster. However, the situation is worse in China. Their economy has clearly slumped and economists believe it won’t be recovering anytime soon, because they fear that the other countries in the world will no longer trade with China. This outbreak has stigmatized the country, it will be associated with it for a long time.
Lastly, sources like the movies and many posts on Google, present a very scary picture of the virus. And because people get their information from there, it is best to avoid uncontrollable fear and panic, by simply abiding to the basic rules of protection… and waiting for spring.
