ABSTARCT
Viruses are so tiny; about 20 to 400 nanometers in diameter, billions can fit on the head of a pin. Every 100 years there is a new virus that hit the world, at the end of 2019, an epidemic of cases with unexplained low respiratory infections caused by virus detected in Wuhan, the largest metropolitan area in China, last December has spread to six continents. The virus killed almost 200,000 innocent people and infected about 3 million people. Yes, it is the coronavirus. Some researchers believe that the seafood market may not be the original source of the virus transmission to humans, and some of them suggest the opposite. Many scientists are doing researches for limiting the infectious and trying to find a cure before it is mutated in a bad way, so that the pandemic can end.
INTRODUCTION
Viruses became so popular these days, we are not talking about the computer viruses, but it is so similar, because, they need a host to reproduce and to infect specific parts, and if we do not use antivirus programs for that specific virus while hitting, or before it is hit, well, yes, the computer dies and it will never work again. It is so similar to the viruses that infect us; viruses are an infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. When a virus infects us, our white blood cells (antiviruses) will try to recognize it and produce an antiviral agent to defeat the body. Viruses are known for their infectious nature. Sometimes, they cause diseases, but they are not all bad. Some viruses can kill bacteria, while others can fight viruses that are more dangerous for us. Last December, Coronavirus cases have been found in almost every country. World Health Organization (WHO) has marked it as a global pandemic, because the virus is a new virus that can easily infect people and spread from person to person.
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WHAT IS CORONAVIRUS?
Coronaviruses or COVID-19 are a large family of viruses, which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to produce symptoms similar to influenza, to more severe diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease. Coronaviruses are large mostly spherical, covered with a lipid bilayer, and three types of proteins such as the membrane, envelope, and spikes (gives the virus the appearance of having crowns, which is why they are named corona because corona means crowns in Latin), and contain a positive and single-stranded RNA genome. Six species of human coronaviruses are known, four of these coronaviruses produce mild symptoms of the common cold such as, Human Coronavirus OC43, HKU1, 229E and NL63. Moreover, three human coronaviruses produce symptoms that are potentially severe such as Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
WHY SO MANY INFECTED PEOPLE?
Scientists say that it is so hard to control the spread of the coronavirus because; many infected people only show mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. A person who has no symptoms at all will wake up, go to work or to the gym, and breathe on or leave infected droplets in the air near others, and then, it will infect people when someone breathes these droplets, which is why it spreads rapidly. Infection with the virus usually takes 5 to 6 days to show symptoms, but it can take up to 14 days.
HOW IT SPREADING AMONG PEOPLE?
When someone is infected, the host cell is forced to produce thousands of identical copies of the original virus. Viruses can spread in many ways; for instance, insects that feed on plant sap transmit viruses from plant to plant, Influenza viruses spread by coughing and sneezing and the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are one of several viruses that people can be infected through sexual contact or by exposure to infected blood. Coronavirus is capable of infecting a few species not only humans. People infected with Coronavirus, produce tiny droplets when they breathe, talk, cough, or sneeze, allowing the virus to travel through the air, and when a person breathes these droplets, he will be infected. Scientists do not know how long the new coronavirus can live on surfaces, so sometimes; these droplets can land on objects and surfaces around the person. Others will capture these objects or surfaces by touching them, then touching their eyes, nose, or mouth, which is why it is important to wash our hands with soap and water regularly or clean them with alcohol-based hand rubs.
WILL CORONAVIRUS SPREAD FROM ANIMALS TO HUMAN?
The reason why the new coronavirus has jumped from an animal to people on the Wuhan market is that it has been mutated. The market was later shut down and disinfected, making it nearly impossible to investigate which animal has been the exact origin, but bats are considered as a possible source, because they have evolved with many viruses before, and they were the starting point of SARS (SARS coronavirus, virus identified in 2003). A very small number of mammals and birds have been reported that they are infected with the coronavirus after close contact with people who had the virus. It is important to remember that viruses sometimes infect species, but they do not make us sick or spread to others.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Coronavirus particles that are inhaled through the nose or mouth have a high chance of attaching to cells in our upper respiratory tract. When the virus infects a human cell, the spike proteins on its surface stick to receptors that we have in our cells, the binding to the receptor can help the virus to infect human cells and spread among us. When a virus enters our body and begins to multiply, an infection occurs. In order to deal with infections, our immune system (antivirus) starts to work. Many of the symptoms that coronavirus cause are common symptoms, and they all show by the immune systems trying to eliminate the virus, such as fever (heat can inactivate many viruses), Fatigue, dry cough, and the secretion of chemicals called interferon (which prevents the virus from multiplying).
MUTATIONS, VACCINES AND RECOVERING?
A vaccine could stop the coronavirus, but only if the virus does not mutate in a bad way. Like all viruses, coronavirus is mutating when it passes from person to person. A mutation is simply a change in a virus’s genetic code. Most mutations do not change the virus functions. Coronavirus does all what other viruses do, entering a cell and using it as a host to reproduce. Sometimes, small errors, or what we call (mutations) occur when copying. Those errors bank over time because; the virus is spread from cell to cell and person to person. Vaccines work by forcing the body to develop antibodies, which neutralize the virus by binding to it. Scientists are waiting to see if mutations will affect this interaction. To enter a cell and if they find a vaccine, it will target those parts, so it could not infect other cells. However, the coronavirus vaccine is still months away or maybe years. Because there is no vaccine yet, they do a diagnostic test that can determine if we are infected with coronavirus. Once a coronavirus infection is confirmed, the treatment is will be making sure that the patient is getting enough oxygen, managing the fever, and using a ventilator to push air into the lungs if necessary. Patients with mild cases are told to rest and drink plenty of fluids, while the immune system does its job and heals itself. Several countries, especially Turkey, are seriously looking at plasma therapy as a treatment for Coronavirus. Plasma therapy uses blood donated by a rehabilitated patient to introduce antibodies (antiviruses) into the patient under treatment.
HOW CAN WE PROTECT OURSELVES?
Coronavirus has a mortality rate of more than 2% and this is new to us, which is why we are not prepared for it, and our immune system is not ready to protect our bodies, which is why we need to avoid catching the virus. Washing our hands with soap for at least 20 sec. when we cough, we exhale infected droplets that are heavy and do not travel far in the air, so they sink to the ground, this is why it is important to stay at least 1 meter (3 feet) away from others. We should not touch our eyes, nose, or mouth without washing our hands first. When coughing or sneezing, we should cover them with a curved elbow or tissue. If we have symptoms of a respiratory illness, wearing a mask reduces the risk of infecting others. For coronavirus, we should use the N95 masks because it is a tighter fitting and this mask can filter out 95% of very small particles including viruses and bacteria. If we avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals, this will enable the doctors to operate more efficiently, thereby protecting others and us.
CAN A VIRUS CHANGE THE WORLD?
Coronavirus has killed many people, which means that the population has decreased. People are not able to go to their works; some countries' economies are too bad now and if they do not find a vaccine for it as soon as possible, some countries will lose all they have, in the USA for instance, unemployment hit a record high. The unemployed need money to continue their normal lives; because they do not work, the state should pay them in this difficult situation, but for how long?
IS IT A LAB-MADE?
In my opinion it is a biological war, it is the most dangerous type of war. I think it has made in a lab and spread to humans to decrease the population, and to kill the old people with a bad immune system because old people take without giving and if they do kill them all what they will have is a young generation. Some countries benefit from the virus to increase their economic status, and for political reasons, all countries say that it is a Chinese virus; they want to destroy China. Another reason is that many scientists say that Coronavirus has two new proteins that they never been found in any other virus, one of those proteins, helps to not be recognized by white blood cells, and the function of the other is to be able to spread from animals to humans, how the virus knew that it will infect people?. One other reason is why only Wuhan has this virus while other Chinese countries do not. Why are there no celebrity deaths?
RESOURCES
- https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209710/
- https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-coronavirus.html
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