Coronavirus In India: How COVID-19 Spread, Symptoms, Treatment, Case Fatality Rate, SARS-CoV-2

Most of us, by now, know what coronavirus is due to the worldwide pandemic. The spread of the disease that has resulted in so many deaths and infected people beyond comprehension. We have by now known that a virus spreads this infection and has similar symptoms to influenza. It is contagious to the point that it can spread to hundreds of persons in a short period.

Start your preparation for SBI PO 2020: Click Here for Study Material

Coronavirus

Coronavirus spreads many other similar diseases. These are a category of viruses that cause respiratory diseases. Coronaviruses spread ailments such as

• Common cold
• Lung problems
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

The condition that is presently infecting us is named as COVID-19 by the scientists. In the group of viruses that were in the coronavirus range known to man, the one causing COVID-19 is new, and hence the experts chose to name it as novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 Symptoms

The symptoms that a COVID-19 patient can encounter if infected

• May suffer from pneumonia
• Organ failure
• Shortness of breath 
• Fever

Who are at higher risk of getting COVID-19?

Persons who are more susceptible to the virus are

• People with low immunity
• People with chronic diseases such as cancer, AIDS, organ transplanted persons, etc.
• People aged above 65 years

The coronavirus strains found in humans and some others in animals. In this case, it got passed on from an animal to humans. Studies have shown that the strains of the virus may sometimes deviate from their natural behavior and jump into different species (here host), which is animal to human transfer.

How COVID-19 Spreads?

Since the spread is through droplets and spreads to air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The proximity of the people around the carrier or the infected person can actually trigger the spread.

The close contact or even when speaking, microdroplets of saliva, or nasal discharge when inhaled by other people can get them infected in no time. Sometimes the symptoms may not show up for days or weeks on a person who would be a carrier or infected person, but these people have the capability of spreading the virus to others.

The surfaces that the infected touch or in contact with will get contaminated with the virus. Other people who touch such surfaces use the same to touch their eyes, nose, mouth, etc. are prone to catch the infection. The strain of the virus is known to be very contagious; hence people suffering are quarantined, and others are supposed to practice social distancing. 

The virus can stay alive on any surface from a few hours to a period of nine days or more depending on the room temperature, which may be suitable for it to remain alive. It can be three hours saturated in the air, a day on cardboard boxes(careful of touching parcels) more than two or three days on other surfaces like plastic or stainless steel. The infected feces of the human if others come in contact with others.

COVID-19 Treatment

There is no vaccine or absolute treatment fro the disease as of now, and the whole world is working on it. Doctors are using a combination of treatments used to cure malaria and other disease to help patients with COVID-19. The Economic Times published, “Researchers have identified a possible target for antiviral treatment for COVID-19 by assessing the overall mechanism by which the novel coronavirus enters host cells, and comparing it with the process seen in other similar viruses.”

COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate

The case fatality rate or ratio is entirely depended on the number of confirmed cases and if a country is not testing enough then the case fatality rate cannot be an accurate term to understand the casualties due to COVID-19. In the media, the most discussed term that you’ll find related to deaths due to COVID-19 is case fatality rate. This measure is sometimes called case fatality risk or case fatality ratio, or CFR.

COVID-19 Crude Mortality Rate

CMR gives answer to “if a person is infected, how likely are he or she die?” It is obtained by measuring the dividing the number of deaths from the disease by the total population. Crude Mortality Rate is appropriate to measures the probability that any individual in the population will die from the disease; not just those who are infected, or are confirmed as being infected.

According to the Economic Times, “Estimates that authorities had made so far put the death rate for confirmed cases between 2% & 8%, and the death rate for overall cases between 0.2% and 1.6%.”

Click Here to Register for Bank Exams 2020 Preparation Material

Practice with,

• SBI Clerk 2020 Maha Pack (Test Series | Live Classes | Video Course | Ebooks)
• Get SBI Clerk Mains Test Series for Regular Practice

The COVID-19 will later be renamed as SARS-CoV-2 as it has found the similarity in the manner the disease causes the respiratory problems in the infected persons. On the previous two occasions (in the case of SARS and MERS), the situation could get contained, and fewer deaths caused because the spread wasn’t worldwide and not as fast as COVID-19. Now that this disease is similar in nature of causing severe breathing issues and advanced nature may cause death, though, the mortality isn’t that high. The rate of the spread is more alarming, and how to contain it is the single most problem that world leaders are facing. Having taken several measures, still, the infected toll and death knell in many countries are not heartening enough to say that the slowing down of the virus is happening.