COVID-19 also commonly known as Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness because of COVID infection.Although originating from animals, COVID-19 is not considered a direct zoonosis as its transmission is now primarily human-to-human. It is transmitted in a similar way to the common cold, via contact with droplets of infected individuals’ upper respiratory tract secretions, e.g. from sneezing or coughing. Which means that The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow) to protect yourself and prevent it spreading into others. Therefore to sum up, COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), previously known as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), a strain of corona virus. The first cases were seen in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019 before spreading globally. The current outbreak was officially recognised as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

COVID-19 comes with mostly respiratory symptoms however some individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19 are asymptomatic and can act as carriers. Some also experience mild gastrointestinal or cardiovascular symptoms, although these are much less common. 

SYMPTOMS of COVID-19 Can be segregated into below categories: 

Common symptoms

  • Fever (85-90%)
  • cough (65-70%)
  • fatigue (35-40%)
  • sputum production (30-35%)
  • shortness of breath (15-20%)

Less common symptoms

  • arthralgia (10-15%)
  • headaches (10-36%) 121
  • sore throat (10-15%)
  • chills (10-12%)

Rare symptoms

  • nausea, vomiting, nasal congestion (<10%), diarrhea (<5%) 
  • palpitations , chest tightness 
  • seizures, paraesthesia, altered consciousness

No effective treatment or vaccine exists currently (Date- 30 April 2020).The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face. 

Source : www.radiopedia.org

Edited by:- Kshitija Saxena

23 thoughts on “What is COVID-19?

Leave a Reply to Shreya Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *