CORONAVIRUS OUTBRAKE
Hello and welcome to our Q&A on the coronavirus outbreak. What do you want to know? Senior Editor Jason Gale is ready to take your questions.
First question: What should we know about this virus and how fast is it spreading?
Jason: The virus is capable of spreading from human to human and seems more infectious than SARS and diseases like flu. In most cases, it causes fairly mild disease, and that's certainly the case for children and young adults. The older you are, the higher the probability of becoming more seriously unwell.
Read more here: https://trib.al/wPvnLCo
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Q: What's the view of the World Health Organization on the coronavirus outbreak?
Jason: The WHO has been assessing a number of factors to determine whether the outbreak constitutes what they call a "public health event of international concern." It has an emergency committee advising the director-general on that, and the panel will discuss the matter a third time later today in Geneva.
The WHO revised its global risk assessment to high on Jan. 28, after acknowledging the virus has undergone at least four generations of spread.
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Q:Many of you are asking: Is there a cure? There have been reports that some people have gotten better and have been released from the hospital.
Jason: There is no cure and there are no proven therapies to combat the infection. But at least one hospital has begun a clinical trial assessing a couple of promising drug therapies. Other companies are also wanting to investigate possible treatments. Many people have recovered from the illness and have been discharged from the hospital, however, there are still hundreds in serious condition.
Follow the latest here: https://trib.al/b1IwwyB
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Q: What are the main differences in infection and mortality rates between this virus and SARS?
Jason: The dynamics of this virus are still unfolding. Recent studies have indicated that 2019-nCoV is more infectious than SARS, but less lethal.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing published a study on Jan. 29 that estimated the fatality rate for 2019-nCoV is 6.50% and the reproduction number is estimated to be 4.08, indicating that an infected patient infects more than four susceptible people.
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Q: Are face masks (mask) effective in combating the spread of the virus? Are certain kinds, like surgical masks or N95 masks, better?
Jason: Face masks are only one barrier. A more prudent approach to avoiding infections is simple: wash you hands thoroughly with soap and water! That simple practice — done regularly, especially before eating — has been demonstrated to the most effective thing people can do to protect themselves.
Q: How often should I change my face mask?
Jason: Face masks can become sources of infection if they are exposed to virus particles and not disposed of carefully. I would be changing a face mask at least every day.
Q: Are there any natural remedies to combat the coronavirus? Are 70% alcohol, wet wipes and hand sanitizer effective against the virus?
Jason: Yes! Soap and water. (smile) Washing your hands thoroughly and frequently is the best way to combat this bug. Alcohol-based hand rubs and sanitizers are effective, but so is just plain soap and water. The critical thing is the rubbing with wet hands, plus soap. Infectious disease doctors told me that you must wet your hands first, then apply soap, and really lather it up, and then rinse. There has been a lot of focus on masks, but hand-washing is the most important thing to remember. 🚿
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Q: How does a virus carried in animals transfer to humans?
Jason: That's a good question. Scientists are about 90% sure 2019-nCoV came from bats, but they believe another animal—a mammal— probably played some role in it crossing the species barrier to humans. They have yet to identify the intermediary host.
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Q : Many of you have asked: Are my dogs (dog) at risk from coronavirus?
Jason: There have no reports of dogs being sickened by this particular virus. They would need to have the same receptors in their bodies that the virus uses to infect humans.
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Q: Is it true that the infection can be spread through the eyes?
Jason: There is not enough information available on the places in the body that become infected with this virus. But if the virus is present in tears, it's possible for an infected person who rubs their eye to pass it to someone they touch, who then scratches their nose, or eye, or somehow allows the virus to enter their body. It's a question scientists will try to answer in the coming weeks. For now, we know the respiratory tract susceptible to infection, especially the lower respiratory tract.
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Q: Your next questions: What are the symptoms? At what point should I check with a doctor for confirmation of the coronavirus, and how long does it take to get the results?
Jason: Infections appear to cause very mild disease in children, adolescents and younger adults, with severity increasing in older age groups. Frequently reported early signs are fever, dry cough and tiredness. These are fairly non-specific ailments common to a number of diseases, but different to the common cold, in which sneezing and runny nose are more apparent.
Jason: In terms of when to seek medical advice for a potential infection, that relates to whether or not you are likely to have been exposed to an infected person. Right now, most cases are occurring in China, especially Hubei province. There have been only a handful of examples of transmission occurring outside China. In terms of the diagnostics, it depends on where you are and what access the clinic or hospital has to rapid-point-of-care tests.
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Q: What is the incubation period for the virus?
Jason: The average incubation period is 5.2 days. The longest is about 13 days.
Q: How much time and how close do you have to be to an infected person to be at risk of catching the virus?
Jason: There is no information about that in the public domain. It's still not clear how infections occur. The working hypothesis is that you need to be in contact with large droplets of respiratory secretions (like phlegm) from someone who is infected.
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Q: Do we know how fast the virus is mutating?
Jason: The virus undergoes minor mutations every time it replicates, but overall, so far 2019-nCoV has shown to be "stable" as it's circulated in humans.
(!?) Q: Is it true that the common flu is more fatal than 2019-nCoV?
Jason: It depends on how you look at it... And the population you're looking at. But if you're in your 60s and you get infected with 2019-nCoV, you're probably more likely to die from it than if you got a common cold.
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Q: Is the virus especially dangerous for people with asthma?
Jason: Yes, people with underlying chronic diseases appear to be at greater risk of developing severe illness if they become infected. I have not read any examples of asthmatics being especially vulnerable, but it would make sense that their respiratory symptoms would be worsened by this infection.
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Q : Some of you are asking: What's the status of a coronavirus vaccine? Are HIV drugs effective in curing coronavirus patients?
Jason: Nothing has been proven to work in combating 2019-nCoV. Many groups around the world are working on vaccines, leveraging off of work that had been done on vaccines for other coronaviruses, especially the one called MERS-CoV. It could take a few months at the very least to have one because they need to go through various safety checks for regulators to allow them to be used in a large number of people.
Read more: https://trib.al/wsLXsqv
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Q: Apart from China, are there any countries or regions I should avoid traveling to?
Jason: So far, health alerts have mostly focused on Hubei province in China. The U.S. and other countries have advised citizens against non-essential travel to China.
Q: What could cause infections in people who say they hadn't traveled to China?
Jason: There have been instances in Vietnam and Germany of people being infected in their own countries. The source of those infections has been contact with someone who has been to China, especially Wuhan.
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And a final question: So what are the key things we should watch out for on the coronavirus outbreak? When does it turn from an epidemic to a pandemic?
Jason: We should be watching for sustained human-to-human transmission outside China—basically epidemics of the disease. We also should be watching for how health systems are handling the demand. If they are severely disrupted, especially if hospital intensive care units are unable to function, that would be a very bad sign of the severity of this outbreak.
You can track the outbreak through this infographic: https://trib.al/XCTeoDk
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POSTED 2020.01.30
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