What We Need To Know About Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first identified during an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. More than 80 000 people in China have affected by coronavirus and 3 000 new cases were reported in a day with new cases emerging every day outside mainland China. More than 20 000 cases have been confirmed in 23 countries outside of China in:

• Spain

• Sweden

• Russia

• United Kingdom

• Italy

• Finland

• India

• The Philippines

• United Arab Emirates

• Germany

• Sri Lanka

• Cambodia

• Canada

• Malaysia

This is despite the large investment in research, care and treatment plans. As the cases of coronavirus continue to increase, doctors and scientists are considering best and worst-case scenarios based on the behavior of previous epidemics and what we already know.

One big concern is whether the coronavirus will continue to circulate in the world. How would low-income countries be able to iron out such an outbreak? If efforts to contain the virus fails, there is a huge chance it will become endemic. We have noted that during the recent outbreak we have cases of asymptomatic people, if such cases are common, it will be more difficult to control the disease’s spread, making it more likely that the virus will become endemic.

Early diagnosis and is crucial to prevent transmission and provide supportive care promptly. The disease should be suspected in patients with fever, patients with lower respiratory tract symptoms such as cough and dyspnoea

Other less common symptoms include:

• Myalgia

• Fatigue

• sputum production

• confusion

• headache

• sore throat

• rhinorrhoea

• chest pain

• hemoptysis

• diarrhea

• nausea/vomiting

Approximately 90% of patients present with more than one symptom, and 15% of patients present with fever, cough, and dyspnoea. Clinical presentations resemble SARS SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) .

, but it appears that fewer patients have upper respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms. Some patients may be asymptomatic.

Preventive measures include:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water especially after contact with people

• You can use an alcohol-based sanitizer

• Avoid contact with sick people

• Avoid touching mouth, eyes, and nose with unwashed hands

• Stay at home if you are sick and if you have flu-like symptoms call the nearest infectious hospital and let them know of your condition to avoid any further complications or spread of the virus.

This applies to people living in areas with cases of coronavirus or suspected cases of the virus.

Management involves the following principles:

• Isolation of suspected and confirmed cases, and appropriate infection prevention and control measures

• Managing sepsis (if suspected)

• Supportive therapies (e.g., oxygen, fluid management, analgesics/antipyretics, empirical antimicrobials, intubation, mechanical ventilation)

• Close monitoring for signs of deterioration.

The virus has already infected nearly double the number of people SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) did. So being overprotective is key to preventing this from going endemic as Spanish flu did in 1918, which had a 10% fatality rate and infecting more than a million people at that time.

In conclusion, let’s all remember not to show prejudice towards Asian people, because of the fear of this new virus.

References: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/about/symptoms.html https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m408 https://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/coronavirus_infections/en/ https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus#1 https://medlineplus.gov/coronavirusinfections.html