The official name of coronavirus disease is COVID-19 (WHO). Here 'CO' = Corona, 'V' = virus and D-disease. Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronavirus cause respiratory tract infections and cause symptoms like the common cold, running nose, etc. But some forms of coronavirus like COVID-19 can be lethal and cause severe acute respiratory syndrome. They also cause a range of diseases in farm animals and domesticated pets. Coronavirus has got its name from the Latin word 'corona,' meaning crown. The surface of this virus has a series of club-shaped spikes like crowns, and the virus has got the name corona.
1. HISTORY :
On 31st December 2019, the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan city of China was caused by a novel strain of coronavirus. The virus was named 2019-nCoV by World Health Organisation (WHO). The word novel (=new) has been added in the name of this coronavirus because it was never found anywhere before now.
By early March 2020, the 2019-nCoV has been renamed as SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of viruses. It is widely suspected that the Wuhanan Seafood market or bat may be the source of the viral transmission to humans.
2. STRUCTURE :
The novel coronavirus is a large pleomorphic spherical virus. It is an enveloped virus with bulbous surface projections.
The viral envelope consists of a lipid bilayer. To the lipid bilayer, membrane (M), envelope (E), and spikes (S) structural proteins are attached. A shorter spike-like surface protein called hemagglutinin esterase (HE) is also present. Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid. The nucleocapsid is formed by multiple copies of nucleocapsid (N) protein bound to the single-stranded RNA genome,
3. MODE OF TRANSMISSION :
The novel coronavirus may be spread in two ways - (i) person to person and (ii) contaminated objects to person. Person-to-person transmission occurs through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouth or nose of nearby people or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
4. SYMPTOMS :
The novel coronavirus primarily infects the upper respiratory tract of humans. The following symptoms may appear 2 - 14 days after exposure to the virus,
: Fever, Cough, Shortness of breath, Sore throat, etc.
5. PREVENTION :
(A.) Steps to protect yourself: The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus - (i) Wash your hands often with soap and water, hand sanitizer, etc. (ii) Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. (iii) Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
(B.) Steps to protect others : (i) Stay home if you are sick. (ii) Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze or use the inside of your elbow. (iii) Wear a face mask (specially N-95 type) if you are sick.
(C.) Boosting of Immunity: Boost your immunity by taking food with high antiviral properties like - garlic, cinnamon, yogurt, mushrooms, licorice root (mulethi), etc.
(D.) Vaccination: Two COVID vaccines are being used in India - (i) COVAXIN: India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV). (ii) COVISHIELD: Developed by Serum Institute of India (NII) Pvt. Ltd.
Both the vaccines have a two-dose (0.5 ml each) vaccination regimen given 28 days apart and have an efficacy rate of 81%.
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