Coronavirus: All You Need To Know About Symptoms, Prevention, Risks

The new coronavirus has claimed the lives of 41 people till Friday and has infected more than 830 people in China, according to media reports. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is monitoring the situation closely and has not as yet declared it an epidemic of international concern. Coronavirus is believed to have broken out late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

What is coronavirus? Here's all you need to know about its symptoms and prevention:

• Coronavirus is a broad-based term for a clutch of viruses which cause illnesses from the common cold or more serious conditions such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the better known Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Transmission

• According to the WHO, the viruses are primarily zoonotic in nature—they are transmitted from animals to humans.

• Consumption of seafood is believed to have led to the outbreak of coronavirus before it started to spread from human to human.

• An uninfected individual coming into contact with the secretions of an infected person through an act of sneezing, cough or handshake could lead to a potential infection.

Symptoms

• Coronavirus symptoms include respiratory symptoms such as breathlessness, fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.

• In more severe cases the deadly virus could lead to pneumonia, SARS, kidney failure or even death.

• Coronavirus has been described as a new strain since it had not previously been detected in humans and has earned the name of Wuhan virus as it was first brought to WHO's attention on December 31, 2019, after cases of pneumonia from unknown reasons were reported in Wuhan city of China.

Severity

• With 41 reported deaths and the number of those infected climb being to over 830, coronavirus has reached a high level of alarm. Countries across the world, including India, are on alert. Passengers returning from China are being monitored closely in many countries of the world including the US and Australia.

Cure

• As of now prevention by avoiding contact with people who are sick and keeping one's hands sterile, are the best ways to cut down the risk of infection from coronavirus.

• Drug companies across the world are trying to come up with a vaccine to counter the virus which is spreading rapidly.

• Pharma giants believe that a vaccine is possible because Chinese scientists have been able to sequence the genome of the virus.