The 2019 novel coronavirus has the potential to be a global pandemic. Health officials say it originated in a market in Wuhan, China that sold live and dead wild animals that people ate for food, improved health and vitality and a number of other purposes. The virus has now been detected in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States and over a dozen other countries.
Health Officials Being Proactive
The good news is health officials around the world are being proactive in working to stop the virus from spreading. They have identified and broadcast the symptoms of the illness and have begun to quarantine people with the illness to prevent them from passing it on to others. Beginning Sunday, February 2, American citizens, permanent residents, as well as their immediate family members who have been to China’s Hubei province recently or had contact with people who had, must undergo a two-week mandatory quarantine period to ensure they are not infected with the 2019-nCOV virus.
A Two Week Incubation Period
One of the issues that has contributed to the spread of what health officials are calling the 2019-nCOV virus is its two week incubation period. During this time, a person may have the virus, display no symptoms of it, but can still spread it to others. This makes it difficult for people to know who has the virus and when they should take actions to protect themselves from becoming infected. This has created an extra sense of concern that the virus could quietly continue to spread.
Symptoms Of The Illness
People infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus begin to experience mild cold or flu-like symptoms in two to four days. Although the symptoms can vary from one person to the next, they typically include sneezing, coughing, runny nose, fatigue, sore throat and fever.
Wash Hands Regularly
According to healthcare experts one of the simplest things people can do to protect themselves from the 2019-nCoV virus is to wash their hands regularly with soap and water after making contact with people who could potentially have it. They recommend washing hands for at least 20 seconds before touching your eyes, nose, mouth or food.
Treating The Virus
Currently there’s no cure for the 2019-nCOV virus. Common treatments that have proven to be somewhat effective in controlling the symptoms include taking over-the-counter medication, drinking lots of water, getting adequate rest, avoiding overexertion, not smoking, staying away from smoky areas and using clean mist vaporizers or humidifiers.
Taking medications like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen can help to reduce the pain and fever associated with the illness.
Taking medications like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen can help to reduce the pain and fever associated with the illness.
What Are Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses which typically tend to affect human and other mammal’s respiratory tract and their guts. The viruses are closely associated with infections like pneumonia, the common cold and conditions like severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS).
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