APSD - Coronavirus - COVID-19 - Nerea

CORONAVIRUS - SARS-CoV2

WHAT IS IT:

Coronaviruses are an extensive family of viruses that can cause disease in both animals and humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections that can range from the common cold to more serious illnesses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a new type of coronavirus that have enough impact to affect people.

It mostly produces mild respiratory symptoms.

It presents a clinical symptomatology similar to that of influenza, and 80% of cases are mild. The most serious cases generally affect the elderly or those who suffer from other pathologies.

INCREASE:

More than 197,000 people have died and there are more than 2.7 million confirmed cases around the world.

PLACE OF ORIGIN:

The origin of the outbreak is unknown, the first cases were detected in December. The focus was previously thought to be on a seafood and fish market in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei province, China, but researchers at the Chinese Academy of Science have ruled it out. They do conclude that the virus spread through that place, but they don’t know clearly if it mutated in any animal before it arrives to humans.

SYMPTOMATOLOGY:

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, and feeling of shortness of breath and general malaise. Nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, or digestive symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain may also occur in some cases. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe difficulty breathing, kidney failure, and even death.

Symptoms appear between two and fourteen days, with an average of five days, after exposure to the virus.

TRANSMISSION:

It is estimated that the symptoms of COVID-19 can take between 1 and 14 days to appear, although they normally take between 5 and 6 days.

Transmission occurs normally through direct contact with the respiratory secretions of a sick person, for example, through coughing or sneezing. These secretions can infect another person if they make contact with their nose, eyes, or mouth.

It is transmitted mainly by respiratory drops and by direct contact with secretions. Transmission by air over distances greater than 2 meters seems very improbable. It has an incubation period of between 2 and 14 days.

INFECTATION:

Some people become infected but do not develop any symptoms and doesn’t feel sick. Most people (about 80%) recover from the condition without the need of any special treatment. About 1 in 6 people who get COVID-19 develop a serious condition. About 2% of people who have contracted the disease have died.

The highest risk groups are people over 65 years old and those with chronic ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart or lung problems, and immunodeficiencies, as they are more likely to develop a serious medical condition. However, it should be noted that it affects people of all ages.

INVOLVEMENT IN NURSING HOMES:

2,658 deaths have been reported in Catalonia with coronaviruses or compatible symptoms in residences since the start of the outbreak.

This represents 58.21% of the total deaths in the autonomous community.

the users of this type of centers who have died with COVID-19 or similar symptoms stand at 15,623, the majority in Madrid, Catalonia, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. Thus, those who died in nursing homes would be equivalent to 67% of the total officially notified by the Ministry of Health.

Those who died with coronavirus in residences in Catalonia since March 15 have risen to 2,814, which is 60% of the total in the community, according to the registry of regional funeral homes. The Health Department - which stopped updating this information provided by the centers themselves on April 13 - has reported that up to now there are 10,139 people diagnosed with geriatric coronaviruses and 20,360 are suspicous cases.

EFFECT ACCORDING TO AGE AND PREVIOUS PATHOLOGIES:

Age of patients (in years)	Mortality over symptomatic infections	Mortality over  total infections
0–9	0,019 %	0,022 %
10–19	0,046 %	0,091 %
20–29	0,19 %	0,18 %
30–39	0,38 %	0,4 %
40–49	0,82 %	0,82 %
50–59	2,7 %	1,3 %
60–69	9,4 %	4,6 %
70–79	20 %	9,8 %
80 or older	36 %	18 %

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS:

The quarantines, restrictions on human trafficking and the isolations that are taking place due to the pandemic have been shown to have negative psychological effects.

IS IT VERY CONTAGIOUS?

It seems that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted quite easily. At the moment, the OMS estimates that the rate of infection (R0) of the virus is 1.4 to 2.5, although other estimates speak of a range between 2 and 3. This means that each infected person can in turn infect to between 2 and 3 people. To control an epidemic, the R0 needs to decrease below 1.

CAN ANIMALS INFECT US?

There is currently no scientific evidence that domestic animals can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, nor that they can develop or transmit COVID-19 to people or other animals.

HOW CAN IT PREVENTED:

Washing your hands with soap and water or alcoholic solutions often.

Covering your mouth and nose with disposable tissues and immediately washing your hands.

Covering your mouth and nose with the inside of your elbow when coughing or sneezing and immediately washing your hands.

Avoiding sharing food, utensils or other objects without cleaning them properly.

WE RECOMMEND THE USE OF GLOVES OR MASK:

1. Gloves: In general, the use of gloves is not advisable. If a person wears gloves and touches a virus surface, these can also survive in gloves, and the infection could be acquired by touching the face with the gloves. In addition, the use of gloves gives a false sense of security, which can make you forget the fundamental recommendation of frequent hand washing. 

2. Mask: For the general population, the use of masks (surgical or gomemade) is recommended in closes public spaces, very crowded, with difficulty in establishing the physical distance between people (supermarkets, public transport, etc. ). Then, the transmission of COVID-19 could be reduced, however, its use is a measure of protection for the rest, not individual protection. It is important to note the use of masks could generate a false sese of security, and remember that the most effective preventative measures are frequent hand washing and keeping a distance of at least 2 meters with other people.

DEGREE OF LETHALITY:

According to the latest data, the lethality rate of the new coronavirus among those infected is 4.5%.

Although this is not 100% accurate, as mild cases are not diagnosed and are not recorded, in addition to the fact that sometimes the disease is asymptomatically.

EPIDEMIOLOGY:

This disease is described as a "causal epidemiological triangle" that is made up of: the environment, the etiological agent (the SARS-CoV-2 virus) and the human.

ETIOLOGICAL AGENT:

The cause of COVID-19 is an infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) coronavirus-2, which is a type of Orthocoronavirinae.

It seems to have a zoonotic origin, that means, it passed from an animal (a bat) to a human.

UPDATED DATA 12/05/2020 - 22:43h:

Totals to date, in Catalonia:

Confirmed positives: 61.355

Gravity incomings: 3.953

Hospital discharges: 35.130

Deaths: 11.351

   In residences: 3.361

   In social and health centers: 154

   At home: 618

   In hospitals and others: 7.218

IN MY OPINION:

In my opinion, I think that at the beginning, and I include myself, the virus was not given as much importance as when it began to affect so many people and so many were harmed. When everything has been more serious, it is when people have begun to really worry and be afraid of the virus.

I also believe that many things have been invented in order to make the population more afraid, things like China created this virus to keep less population because there was too much, for example.

But, anyway, now, although I do not entirely agree with the measures that the government is implementing, I consider that it is doing much better.