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2019-NCOV: FEBRUARY 2020 - VOL. 71, NO. 3
A BREAKDOWN By Kristina Jao The tumultuous infiltration of coronaviruses is not new to human history. Different strains of the said virus are known for, not only one, but two notorious global pandemics, namely, Severe Acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) of 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) of 2012 (Nazario 2020). Less than a decade since, humanity is once more fazed by a new face of the coronavirus - Novel Coronavirus (2019- nCoV) or COVID-19, discovered a day before the dawn of the new year in Wuhan City of the Hubei Province in China. Four weeks in and Wuhan City is suspected to have around 1000 cases who are to test positive of the virus, alongside a current staggering but rising death toll of 56. With common-folk hearsay spreading faster than the very virus itself, news whether fake or factual - has sent the world into a global frenzy. First and foremost, no, the 2019-nCoV is yet to be declared a global epidemic. Although the occurrence is not completely out of the realm of possibility, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partner institutions have not done so. M o r e over, theorists are feeding on the notion that the virus was planted by the Chinese government to combat overpopulation, as Wuhan turns out to Central China’s most populated city. This is not true, however, as a study conducted prove that the virus is zoonotic, meaning that
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it can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa; thus, supporting the prior hypothesis that the initial reservoir of the strain was a snake (2020). If the zoonotic link is strengthened and confirmed, the discovery will be vital to the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Lastly, although there has not been a reported cure of the virus, it will NOT turn you into a zombie. Conspiracists are conniving with the notion of an apocalypse, triggering unnecessary chaos to the gullible audience of mass media. Worst case symptoms of the virus exhibited by the affected include pneumonia; but, not a single one of these patients has turned into the Walking Dead. Great is the need to properly and truthfully inform the general public of the nature of the virus, especially the youth. Smooth and easy access to social media and the world wide web opens a million doors to the truth, but also a
mill i o n possible truths that may or may not turn out to be fallacies.
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The 2019-nCoV is a member of the subfamily of Coronavirae, which is the betacoronavirus - also infamous for spreading beta strains of SARS and MERS. The virus is so called because of its “halo” shaped like the sun’s corona as seen under the electron microscope. This structure is lined with proteins that determine host tropism, or simply, specifies the species that the virus can infect. Moreover, the same family is said to have a large genome size, which means that “more genes, more and longer introns, and more transposable elements than organisms with smaller genomes”. Given the aforementioned actualities, those who are versed with the basic intricacies of virology will understand how the virus seems to have been made to cause a ruckus. However, what a tenth grader needs to understand, primarily, is that the virus is not a joke. It is not to be taken lightly but also, it is not something to excessively panic about. The spread of the virus has multiple points of entry but knowing these by heart will allow us to prevent and prepare against it. The Center for Disease Control and
to take precautionary measures, such as the proper hand washing and wearing of face masks, to protect one’s self. Yes, the tumultuous infiltration of coronaviruses is not new to human history. Thus, it is only mandatory and expected of the generation to be knowledgable and prepared enough to face the challenges that this probable epidemic may bring. This is not the first time and this will, most definitely, not be the last. Yet, the best thing humanity can do is prove why we are the higher order thinkers of all Creation - by learning from the past, applying in the present, and preparing for the future.
Prevention names respiratory droplets as the main driver o f person-to-person transmission of the disease (2020). Therefore, it is essential
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Photos taken from the World Health Organization and Business Insider