Corona Virus is a virus that causes illness in humans like common cold and severe forms like SARS and MERS which are life threatening. It is a family of viruses that infect birds and mammals including humans. Corona Virus was first discovered in the year 1930s in a domesticated chicken with acute respiratory infection caused by Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) and the first Human corona viruses were discovered in 1960s with common cold and respiratory tract infections.
The outer surface of the coronaviruses have spiky projections that resemble the points of crown, or ‘corona’ in Latin, which includes the novel coronavirus identified in 2019. These coronaviruses first hosted in the animal bodies and evolved to infect humans. Coronavirus which causes both SARS and MERS were appeared in bats. The SARS virus jumped from bats to other small mammals on its way to people, while MERS infected camels before spreading to humans. These corona viruses maximize their spread rather than harm their human host. This is the reason why coronaviruses that are transmitted from animals cause more-severe diseases in humans.
How Coronavirus is transmitted:
The coronavirus is a respiratory virus which spreads through respiratory vapor, such as when someone sneezes or coughs into the air around you. It also spreads through the close contact for example; when an infected person coughs or sneezes the droplets or saliva or discharge from the nose get into their hands, then touches door handles, light switch and other most-touch surfaces. The viruses generally cannot survive for more than a few hours on surfaces outside a human body, but through social gathering people can pick up a coronavirus from a contaminated surface in a short period of time.
How to prevent Coronavirus transmission:
The common symptoms of coronavirus people causes a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and fever. It takes 2-14 days to exposure the symptoms of the infected person. Those with weakened immune system develop serious symptoms like pneumonia or bronchitis. The infected person also finds difficulty in breathing.
The best way to prevent and slow down the pace of transmission is to be well informed about coronavirus. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after using bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, avoid touching your face, eyes and mouth. Also disinfect the frequently touched surfaces and objects. Stay home and maintain social distancing. Boost your immune system and stay calm, stay hydrated, take care of your physical and mental health condition.
Treatment:
There is no vaccine yet for the treatment of coronavirus disease. The symptoms of a corona virus usually go away on their own and if the symptoms feel worse than a common cold contact your doctor and take a prescribed pain and fever medication. Drink fluids and get plenty of rest. If you are troubled with breathing seek immediate medical care.