Beating the COVID-19 pandemic

Author: Sonia R. (IG: @chemiphillic_randhawa)

SCG ID: 1307202015

What is it?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) which emerged last year and is responsible for the current global pandemic situation (WHO 2020). This virus belongs to the Coronaviridae family which appear just like spiked rings when observed through an electron microscope. This spiky surface is helpful to attack and bind living cells. This virus seems to be very epizootic and has quickly spread globally. In a meeting in January 2020, the outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC, WHO 2020).

How is it transmitted?

The virus is especially transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales. These droplets are too heavy to hold within the air and quickly fall on floors or surfaces. One can be infected by inhaling the virus if he/she is in close proximity of somebody who has COVID-19, or by touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth. It has been reported that the virus may infect a person at a distance of about a 6 ft (1.8 m) radius. Alarmingly, the virus can survive up to a few days in cough and sneezing droplets lying on the surface or ground. Coronaviruses are particularly dangerous due to their abilities to cross species barriers and causing respiratory diseases to more severe diseases like MERS and SARS. Interestingly, these viruses have probable origins in bats, following which they bounced off to other mammalian hosts — the Himalayan civet cat for SARS-CoV, and also the dromedary camel for MERS-CoV — before jumping to humans (Gong and Bao 2018). The dynamics of SARS-Cov-2 are currently unknown, but a possible hypothesis relies again on it being from an animal origin. This is so because the first cases of the COVID-19 disease were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market of Wuhan where animal-to-human transmission via direct exposure was presumed as the main mechanism (Mackenzie and Smith 2020).

What are the most common symptoms?

Fatigue
Muscle pain
Sneezing
Sore throat
Dry cough
High fever
Respiratory problems

How are the COVID-19 tests being carried out?

There are epidemiologic factors that assist in the decision on who to test for this disease. Usually, this includes everyone who has had close contact with a patient with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within 14 days of symptom onset or a history of travel from affected geographic areas (presently China, Italy, Iran, Japan, and South Korea) within 14 days of symptom onset. If a person is a PUI (Persons Under Investigation), it is recommended that practitioners immediately put in preventive measures in place.

Diagnosis tests - Molecular test, Serology

Imaging analysis - Chest X-ray examination, Chest computed tomography, Lung ultrasound

Social Impact

This disease has made us all revisit our priorities and proved that everything around us is short-term and, in the end, it is only our home and family which keeps us safe. The whole world has been severely affected economically due to a decrease in industrial production. The travel ban imposed by various countries has resulted in losses ranging up to millions of dollars for the airlines and tourism industry. There is also a significant shortage of medicines, sanitizers, masks, and other important commodities, which has hiked up the prices of these items. Moreover, many countries have banned in-person the classes in schools, colleges, and the universities and impacting the quality of education of millions of the students. It has posed very difficult situations not only economically, but also socially and mentally for millions of people and to assess and adjust to the trickle-down impact of this pandemic will be very challenging for years to come. Briefly, this is a big loss to the worldwide as it is affecting all the sectors of society. But what can be concluded from the current situation is that there is an urgent need to educate and prepare the next generation for science and technology to fight against any such disasters in future.

Are there any treatments available?

There is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19 yet, and no vaccine is currently available so far, but prevention, management and supporting healthcare may provide relief in controlling the outbreak of COVID-19. However, some approaches have been suggested to control this disease.

What measures to take to prevent ourselves?

Prevention is a very important issue and maybe the only way so far to control COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for the collective efforts of the public and the government globally without any social/economic/religious discrepancies (to name a few) to fight against such diseases in the future.

Some regular recommendations to minimize the infection are:

Clean your nearby area properly
Wash your hands with soap and sanitizer
Cover your mouth and nose with mask during sneezing and coughing
Wash foodstuffs before cocking
Regularly clean the surface by disinfectants
Avoid the interactions with anyone suspected of having symptoms for respiratory problems
Stay at home if anyone has flue and common cold-like symptoms
It is also better not to go to school, work and public places
Do not use public means of transport (aircraft, train, metro, bus, taxi, etc.)
Avoid travel and crowd gatherings
Drink hot water every two hours.

It has been realized that this disease is spreading mostly among those not taking proper preventative measures and are not following the directions of WHO and the local government as well as the health care officials. Some people are even trying to target specific communities for the spread of COVID-19. This virus does not recognize race, creed, sex, age, and religion. Instead, this virus has a very big ego, it will not come to your house unless you go out and invite it. It has therefore been advised time and again to follow the preventive measures, managements and quarantine strictly without any discrepancy to prevent this situation from worsening. There is a need to be panic and proper prevention and management are essential. Most importantly, we should also remember that together we can win this battle!

References

Ali, I. & Alharbi, O. M. L. COVID-19: Disease, management, treatment, and social impact. Sci. Total Environ. 728, 138861 (2020).
Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Cuomo, A., Dulebohn, S. C. & Di Napoli, R. Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls (StatPearls Publishing, 2020).
Gong, S. & Bao, L. The battle against SARS and MERS coronaviruses: Reservoirs and Animal Models. Anim. Model. Exp. Med. 1, 125–133 (2018).
MacKenzie, J. S. & Smith, D. W. COVID-19: A novel zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus from China: What we know and what we don’t. Microbiol. Aust. 41, 45–50 (2020).
WHO. Statement on the meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). WHO Newsletter 1–6 (2020).