Kanawu Radio number 1 news portal
In China, the corona virus, or Wuhan virus , is rapidly spreading.More than 24,000 people have since been infected and 493 have died. What is known about the virus so far?
Het Parool February 5, 2020, 4:05 PM
- Where is the origin of the corona virus?
The coronavirus is almost certainly derived from bats. Chinese researchers found that after almost an identical virus was found on a bat. Most likely the virus then “switched” to another mammal, after which it came into contact with people.
The outbreak of the epidemic began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province . There, dozens of people became ill, all of whom had been present at a local fish market, from where the virus spread.Wild animals were slaughtered on the market and hygiene was not taken too closely.
More than ten million people live in Wuhan and the city is also an important traffic hub in China. The government has therefore completely closed the city to prevent further spread in the country. More than 8 billion euros has also been made available to contain the virus. That money was used, among other things, to set up an entire hospital to treat infected people.
- What are the symptoms of the corona virus and why is it called that?
Carriers of the virus generally have lung complaints. In addition, they often have a high fever. Of the first 99 patients examined in Wuhan since January 1, three-quarters had inflamed lungs, researchers discovered on scans. Of that group, 11 died on January 25 and 31 were sent home. 57 patients were still in the hospital.
The symptoms with these Wuhanese : especially fever (83 percent), cough (82 percent), shortness of breath (31 percent), muscle pain (11 percent), confusion (9 percent), headache (8 percent), sore throat (5 percent). Of all patients with the new corona virus known to authorities, around a quarter have serious to very serious complaints.
If you see the corona virus under a microscope, it has protrusions with a sphere on it. This makes the virus look like a crown and the Latin name for crown is corona. The virus is therefore named after its form. In addition, it is not new: there are many more viruses that fall under the corona family and, for example, cause a cold in the winter. Other variants such as mers and sars cause more serious complaints.
- How does the corona virus spread?
It is known that the virus not only moves from animal to human, but also from human to human. How this happens exactly is unknown. It is likely that this happens through the small droplets that are released during coughing or sneezing or through physical contact.
Middle-aged men are most likely to get sick if they come into contact with the corona virus. Especially if they already had something among the members. Among the first 99 patients were 67 men and 32 women. Their average age was 55.5 years. More than half had a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart or lung problems. The first two deaths – male sixties – had no chronic illness, but both were invalid smokers. Women and children seem less susceptible to the virus.
- Have we experienced similar virus outbreaks?
The new coronavirus is similar to the 2002 sars virus. This virus was fatal in about 5 to 15 percent of the cases. For comparison: the annual flu (influenza) is fatal in 1 to 2 percent of cases in the Netherlands. In total, more than 7,000 people became infected with sars and 774 people died of the virus.
Sars emerged as a mysterious lung disease in the Chinese province of Guangdong at the end of 2002 .However, the Chinese government did not inform the World Health Organization (WHO) until mid-February. Partly because of this, a doctor from the infected area took the virus to Hong Kong, after which it spread worldwide. China has acted faster with the outbreak of the new corona virus than with the sars virus , yet the Chinese government admits that it has still not acted adequately enough.
- Where has the virus emerged so far?
The vast majority of infections have been observed in the high-risk area, the Chinese city of Wuhan .But also in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam, the United States, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Macau, infected persons have been admitted to the hospital and placed in quarantine. In Europe, the virus has so far been detected in patients in Germany, Italy, France, Finland and Belgium.
Persons diagnosed with the corona virus outside of China had almost all been in the risk area. They took the virus with them and did not contract it outside of China. One of the French patients traveled to France from the risk area via the Netherlands. There is a good chance that the virus will appear once in the Netherlands, but according to RIVM the outbreak of an epidemic is very unlikely.
- How deadly is the corona virus?
At the moment that is difficult to say. In total, more than 24,000 people were infected and 493 people died. The virus does not seem much more deadly than the annual flu in the Netherlands. However, the numbers change every hour and there is not much information about the virus yet. On Friday, the health committee in China reported that the corona virus has now surpassed the sars virus .
- What measures have been taken in the Netherlands to prevent the spread of the new corona virus?
Some people have already been tested for the virus in the Netherlands, but the result was negative.However, the authorities involved take into account that the disease is serious and contagious. In this way it is possible to act quickly and decisively in the event of infections.
The RIVM has convened the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). This team includes scientists and specialized doctors who have a great deal of knowledge about combating infectious diseases. This team advises the government on how to combat the new corona virus in the Netherlands. If a doctor thinks that he has a patient with the corona virus, a protocol goes into effect. The patient is immediately kept in isolation.
No visible measures have yet been taken in the Netherlands. For example, travelers at Schiphol are not(yet) being checked for fever. If people are traced in the Netherlands with the corona virus, the first measures will be aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. All Dutch hospitals are equipped to perform the correct treatment. More information can be found on the RIVM website .
Fifteen Dutch people and two Chinese partners arrived on Monday at Eindhoven Air Base. The group has been repatriated from the Wuhan risk area .
- How are theDutch evacuatedfrom Wuhan being monitored?
Most of the fifteen Dutch people who were evacuated from Wuhan last weekend will be in quarantine at home for the next two weeks. They are not allowed outside, not even in the garden or on their balcony. They are also not allowed to receive visitors or accept packages. They must keep a distance of 2 meters from their housemates. They can only share the bed with their partner if they have also been to China. The housemates may just go outside and come into contact with other people. The evacuees who are unable or unwilling to stay at home, for example because they live in a student house, have been quarantined at a central location.
All evacuated Dutch people have daily telephone contact with the GGD. They have been asked to record their temperature daily and to watch for symptoms. This is done on the basis of trust. As long as they do not have health problems, stricter measures are not needed according to the GGD and RIVM.
One of the Belgians in the evacuation plane turned out to be infected. According to the GGD that does not change the situation: home quarantine of the Dutch from Wuhan is the right approach.
- Why doesn’t the virus have a real name yet?
The little sexy name ‘2019-NcoV’ that the WHO gave the virus is temporary. Only in October does a committee determine the definitive name for this epidemic. That is a sensitive process: the name must not evoke negative associations with the names of people, places, animals and food, because people might avoid it for fear. The 2019-NcoV technical designation is a combination of the year in which the virus emerged and the English abbreviation for New Corona Virus. It is a family of coronaviruses, such as Sars and Mers, that have long been known . If you look at it under an electron microscope, it has protrusions with a sphere on it. That looks a bit like a crown. The Latin name for crown is corona – hence the family name. It certainly has nothing to do with the Mexican beer of the same name – despite all conspiracy theories. The new virus is now also known as ‘ Wuhan corona virus’ – some media use the popular Wu Flu ( Wuhan flu).
- Will there be a vaccine?
In the meantime, China has already started testing a new vaccine on humans. It means Remdesivirseems effective and because of a lack of alternatives already tested on humans. In the US, Remdesivir has also been tested on a patient with the virus and his symptoms have decreased, according to doctors. The HIV drug Kaletra will also be tested in the foreseeable future on people infected with the new corona virus.
According to the Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans, who is also a member of the expert committee that advises the WHO on combating the virus, there will be a vaccine ‘in about four months’.According to Koopmans , it usually takes ten years for a new vaccine to be developed. “Researchers are trying to convert vaccines for, for example, mers , a related virus.”
- Fables and facts
As with any outbreak of an infectious disease, the wildest stories are circulating in no time. This is no different with the new corona virus. In risk areas, for example, many people wear masks. According to the RIVM, only mouth caps that work well over the nose and mouth work. In addition, the masks must be changed regularly, something that is almost impossible in daily practice.
There was also a wild rumor that the virus would spread through packages sent from China. So far, there is no reason to believe that corona viruses can spread like this. Other coronaviruses also do not spread in this way and so far nothing has shown that this new coronavirus can spread via cardboard or packaging material.
