According to Aljazeera.com, more than 34,000 cases have been reported worldwide, of which a good percentage of the victims residing in China's Hubei province.
On February 6th, a citizen of the United States died in Wuhan, and two days later, a Japanese man "suspected of being infected" with the virus was also reported dead.
In fact, in terms of affected people, the coronavirus has infected more people than the 2002-2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which also originated in China.
Here are some facts you need to know about the deadly virus.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV).The name coronavirus originated from the Latin word corona, (which means crown or halo). Under an electron microscope, the image of the virus is reminiscent of a solar corona.
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| Source: Pixabay/Coronavirus |
A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. It was discovered by Chinese authorities on January 7.
Symptoms of Coronavirus
Common symptoms of infection include fever, shortness of breath, cough and other respiratory symptoms.In most severe cases, it can result to severe acute respiratory syndrome, pneumonia, kidney failure or even death.
Prevention tips
To reduce your risk of getting infected with the coronavirus, kindly avoid close contact with showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.Also wash your hands regularly and cover your mouth/nose while sneezing to avoid spreading the infection.
Which countries have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak?
Majority of the reported cases took place in the Hubei Province of China. The virus has also spread to many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Europe, Australia, North America and the Middle East.Philippines and Hong Kong have also reported one death each from the new virus outside of mainland China. The majority of cases outside China are among people who recently travelled to the country.
What is being done to stop it from spreading?
Chinese authorities have effectively placed travel restrictions to and from Wuhan city in China, and so far, over 56 million people have been affected by the ban.Many airlines have cancelled flights to China, while some countries have banned Chinese nationals from entering and have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan.
Scientists are also working on a vaccine but have warned one is unlikely to be available for mass distribution before 2021.
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