The COVID-19 epidemic has struck us all like a bolt from the blue, forcing the country to follow strict regulations to avoid the contagion and transmission of this infectious disease from China.
From the moment we write, there are more than 380,000 thousand infected and, in all, more than 16,500 victims. Indeed, the World Health Organization recently labeled the new disease as "Pandemic". Here's what we know so far about this fearsome virus.
Let's start from the basics: the virus is not foreign to humans. Their numbers are growing rapidly with several newly discovered coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS. The name refers to the characteristic aspect of the pathogen visible under the microscope which resembles – from afar – a crown. Coronaviruses are believed to cause a significant percentage of all common colds in adults and children, with higher incidence during winter and early spring. Coronaviruses are common in many animal species (such as camels and bats) but in some cases, albeit rarely, they can evolve and infect humans and then spread to the population. Human coronaviruses known to date, common all over the world, are seven, some identified several years ago (the first in the mid-sixties) and some identified in the new millennium.
Where it all started
It all started around mid-December 2019, when the health authorities of the city of Wuhan in China found the first cases of patients showing symptoms of a "pneumonia of unknown cause". Investigating even more, it was discovered that this first group of patients was somehow connected to the local fish market, very different from those we have in Italy, consisting of about a thousand stalls where they sell from chickens to animals From the start – given the previous cases – it was hypothesized that it was a new coronavirus from an animal source.
To reconstruct a history of the epidemic, we have summarized the most significant moments of the infection:
December 31, 2019: the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission sends a report to the WHO for the first time in which it informs the agency that it has recorded a significant number of pneumonia cases from unknown causes throughout the province of Hubei.
January 7, 2020: The Chinese Health Commission confirms that it has identified a new type of virus, precisely a coronavirus, the same family that includes flu, Sars and Mers. The new coronavirus is "2019-nCoV".
January 10: the genomic sequence of the virus is determined for the first time: it is a betacoronavirus related to what caused Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV) and to that of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars-CoV).
January 13: reported the first case of contagion outside China in Thailand.
20 th January: The Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) has discovered the human-to-human transmissibility of the new coronavirus. On the same day, the first cases of the virus were reported in Japan and South Korea.
January 21st: multiple provinces in China are invaded by the virus.
January 30: WHO declares global emergency. On the same day the news of the first two cases also found in Italy arrives: two Chinese tourists who were hospitalized in isolation at the Spallanzani hospital. Italy thus decides to close air traffic to and from China.
February 11th: the World Health Organization announces that the official name of the disease is COVID-19.
February 21: first infections in Italy and in the following days there are hundreds of positive cases with the greatest outbreaks in the Lodigiano and Veneto regions.
March 11th: WHO has declared the coronavirus a pandemic: the bulletin records over 118,000 cases in 114 countries around the world, with a toll of 4,291 deaths.
Signs and symptoms
Although they are not yet clear, the ways of infection of the human-to-human virus take place through the saliva particles when coughing or sneezing.
For this reason, healthcare organizations around the world suggest staying about 1-2 meters away from one person to another. The incubation period varies from 1 to 14 days with a average estimated period between 5 and 6 days. According to the World Health Organization, out of an estimate of 55,924 confirmed cases, the following typical signs and symptoms are indicated:
Fever (87.9% of cases);
Dry cough (67.7%);
Fatigue (38.1%);
Sputum production (33.4%);
Shortness of breath (18.6%);
Sore throat (13.9%);
Headache (13.6%);
Myalgia or arthralgia (14.8%)
Chills (11.4%);
Nausea or vomiting (5.0%);
Nasal congestion (4.8%);
Diarrhea (3.7%);
Hemoptysis (0.9%)
Conjunctival congestion (0.8%)
As is frequently said on TV and by all relevant bodies, hand washing and disinfection are the key to preventing infection.
Where are we at for a vaccine?
Unfortunately, there is still no vaccine for the virus and it takes time to prepare and test it. Normally, it would take 10 years to do it. By investing large amounts of money and speeding up work, as many researchers around the world are doing, it takes at least 1 year. However, thanks to studies on the SARS vaccine (started but never distributed because the epidemic ended before) scientists are well advanced, given that the previous coronavirus shares 80 to 90 percent of your genetic profile.
There are usually three stages to a vaccine:
Phase I: the first clinical studies, which involve only very few patients and who are starting these days, will be useful in determining the absence of side effects;
Phase II: a large number of people will be involved in an area where the disease is present;
Phase III: the vaccine is used on thousands of patients. Seems easy? Unfortunately it is not. After this phase, patients who received the vaccine should be carefully monitored. Only after 12 months – minimum – can the necessary conclusions be drawn for the creation of the precious substance. In the meantime, scientists around the world are looking for new therapies to use against the virus. At the Cotugno Hospital in Naples, for example, two patients in intensive care found improvements through the use of a therapy with drugs based on Tocilizumab, thought to combat rheumatoid arthritis. To treat the case of the Chinese spouses in Spallanzani in Rome, however, two antiviral drugs were used: Lopinavir / Ritonavir, used for anti-HIV therapy, and the Remdesivir, a new, more experimental drug used against the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
How long should we worry? When can we go out of the house again to lead our normal life? A question that can hardly be answered. The important thing is, as is often repeated, to stay at home.
