The Deadly Coronavirus

By: Tess Lampe

Recently, a new type of Coronavirus has caused an outbreak. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have been paying close attention to this new outbreak. A Coronavirus is a respiratory illness that causes infection in areas like the nose, sinuses, or upper throat. Different types of Coronavirus’ have shown up in the past, so at first many thought it was not a big deal. However, this is a new type of Coronavirus, one that is called a novel virus (2019-nCoV).

This type of Coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China and has since spread quickly across the country. Now, the first few cases have been confirmed in the United States. As of Tuesday, January 28, about 106 people have died from this virus, along with approximately 4,500 people already infected in over a dozen countries. Because this type of Coronavirus is a novel type (meaning that it has never been seen before), it has become quite deadly, and the statistics prove that.

Not only does the virus cause pneumonia, but it also causes fever, difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, even organ failure. Therefore, recovery does not rely on antiviral agents or antibiotics. An individual’s recovery depends on the strength of their immune system and what support hospitals are able to give. It has also been confirmed that human-to-human connection allows the infection to transmit to another person.

In the United States, there have so far been five confirmed cases: two in southern California, one in Washington, one in Chicago, and one in Arizona. This means that because these cases have been identified in places across the country, there is potential for an outbreak. Experts on these matters, however, are only worried about certain factors. A main concern they have is the difference in symptoms, or more specifically the intensity of an individual’s symptoms. Essentially, this means that as mentioned previously, more severe cases are more deadly and have stronger symptoms, which still remains unexplained. This has since made it difficult for experts and scientists to distinguish what causes the intense or mild symptoms and what extent of human connection must be met in order to transfer the virus. However, the majority of those affected have been and may continue to be those with poor health, which is similar to how the flu has affected certain people.

Conclusively, this new Coronavirus is another unfortunate matter to be dealt with this January. Scientists are staying alert to the fact that the spread needs to be stopped and that the virus could become worse over time. Since around 1620, there has been a sort of plague or pandemic every one-hundred years (1720, 1820, 1920), so here’s hoping that the Coronavirus isn’t the pandemic of 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/27/what-is-coronavirus-symptoms-sars-china-wuhan
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/china-coronavirus-outbreak-us-plans-wuhan-evacuation-death-toll-number-cases-rises-today-2020-01-28/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html