YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT CORONAVIRUS, WEREN’T YOU?

YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT CORONAVIRUS, WEREN’T YOU?

Coronavirus appears to be a topic on which everyone has an opinion, including yours truly. Before I unleash my opinion, based upon complete ignorance and no medical or microbiological training, I would first like to just provide some basic information. 

What are the symptoms of coronavirus infection? From what is known so far, the virus can cause mild, flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, pain in the muscles, and tiredness. More serious cases develop severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock that can lead to the death of the patient. People with existing chronic conditions seem to be more vulnerable to severe illness.

The symptoms do not appear to be much different than the seasonal flus that seem to circulate every winter. Each year a flu vaccine is offered that is designed to combat one or two selected flu strains. About 30% of the population are avid flu vaccine recipients and the rest just take their chances. The severity of each year’s flu varies as well as the number of casualties. As of Feb 22, 2020, there were 18,000 regular flu deaths in the United States. The coronavirus has killed about nine people this year as of March 3, 2020, in the US. The regular seasonal flu is far more deadly if we just look at this small data sample.

Obviously, no one wants to be sick with the flu or die from its effects. As the corona crisis starts to escalate, more and more people are concerned about how to avoid getting infected. A brief guide to infection is offered by medical professionals. They say you should:

• avoid contact with sick people, in particular, those with a cough; 
• avoid visiting places where live or dead animals are handled; 
• follow general rules governing hand hygiene and food hygiene; 
• wash your hands with soap and water OR use an alcohol-based disinfectant solution before eating, after using the toilet and after any contact with animals; 
• avoid contact with animals, their excretions or droppings.
• wherever you travel, apply general rules governing hand and food hygiene. 

It seems to my untrained eye and brain, and without any special insights or knowledge, that perhaps we are overreacting to the coronavirus outbreak. The symptoms appear to be almost identical to all other flu viruses and are not any more unique than the last virus discovered. Yet, we are using terms like “pandemic” and “deadly” to paint a very scary picture for most people as though the end of the world is at hand. Perhaps it is, and I will apologize in advance if it should happen and I have not taken it seriously enough. More educated readers are welcome to inform me of what I am missing in the coronavirus saga and I would welcome the information.

My other concern has to do with the medical community's advice to prevent catching the flu. Their only direction is to avoid people who have the disease and wash your hands regularly. I would suggest that these gems of wisdom indicate that we are totally at the mercy of the virus and just have to wait and see how the scenario plays out. It is the same kind of advice as telling a six-year-old if they don’t want to drown, don’t go near the swimming pool and only go if you wear a life vest. Neither advice is really rocket science is it?

Perhaps we are entering a new era in human evolution where we are experiencing all kind of drastic developments such as significant climate change, destruction of rainforests, increasing wildfires, extinction of many animal species and reduction in arable land. Regular viral epidemics may just be part of that evolutionary picture! Get used to it! And don’t forget to wash your hands after reading this!