A new round of coronavirus: has a pandemic started and should it be feared

Last weekend—February 22 and 23—the number of people infected with coronavirus increased sharply around the world. At the same time, the virus, which was officially named SARS-CoV-2, left China and the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which received the sad nickname “floating Petri dish,” writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

In China, 77 thousand people were infected with the coronavirus, 2600 of them died. In three dozen other countries, about 1200 cases of infection and 20 deaths have been recorded.

Cases of the disease caused by the pneumonia virus were detected last week in South Korea, Iran and Italy, where five people have already died in the last three days. Three infected were found in Russia, 13 people undergo treatment in the UK.

On Monday, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain reported their first cases, all of whom came from Iran. Authorities in Bahrain say a school bus driver has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the closure of several schools.

What is happening in the world:

• China has postponed an annual parliamentary meeting in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus.
• Chinese authorities have banned the consumption of meat from wild animals, as well as hunting, transportation and trade in animal species that have been threatened with extinction. As far as we know, the epidemic of the new coronavirus began on the market in Wuhan, where wild animals were sold.
• On Monday in China, 409 new cases of Covid-19 were reported: mainly in Wuhan.
• Iran confirmed that on Sunday, February 23, 61 cases of Covid-19 were discovered in the country, mainly in the holy city of Qum. On Monday, an MP representing Qom accused the authorities of hiding the facts about the epidemic, saying that 50 people had already died there. The Ministry of Health immediately denied this statement.
• North Korea isolated 380 foreign nationals from fears of a coronavirus.
• In Tatarstan, panic messages about coronavirus patients are being sent out on social networks after eight passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were taken to Kazan. The Ministry of Health says there is no reason to panic.
• In Italy, quarantine has been introduced in several areas in the provinces of Lombardy and Veneto. 50 thousand people are forbidden to leave their cities in the next two weeks without permission.
• The price of gold in the world market rose to the highest level in seven years against the backdrop of investor concerns.
• The Dow Jones index fell 3,4% at the opening of trading on US markets after the fall in Asia and Europe.

Doctors are increasingly confident that the spread of coronavirus has reached a pandemic. What does it mean?

On the subject: What is it like to get sick with Chinese coronavirus: American personal experience

What is a pandemic?

The word is of Greek origin: from “pan”, which means “all”, and “demos” (“people”). Experts use it in cases where the disease spreads in different parts of the planet at the same time. You should not be afraid of the word itself: it does not indicate the danger of the disease, but the scale of its spread. It only applies to infectious diseases.

Simply put, an epidemic is when an outbreak of a disease spreads actively and uncontrollably in one country. A pandemic is when a disease spreads across different countries and continents.

The current outbreak of COVID-19 (the so-called disease caused by the new coronavirus) has already affected about 30 countries, from the UK to South Korea, and it fits the definition of the WHO pandemic, which the organization used until recently.

However, today the WHO does not formally use the term “pandemic”. WHO representative Tarik Yasarevich said that the organization simply does not have such a term.

"To be clear, WHO is not using the old six-phase system - from phase 1 (when there is no animal-to-human transmission of the virus) to phase 6 (pandemic) - which many may remember from the H1N1 outbreak in 2009," he said. But, he said, in common parlance the term “pandemic” may well be used to refer to the spread of a new pathogen transmitted from person to person.

The outbreak of the H1N1 virus (popularly nicknamed “swine flu”) in 2009 became the latest pandemic in WHO terminology. Since then, the organization in such cases has declared a “situation of threat to public health at the international level” (Public Health Emergency of International Concern, PHEIC).

In the case of coronavirus spreading over the planet from the Chinese city of Wuhan, PHEIC was announced on January 30, 2020.

What pandemics have we experienced in the past?

Disease outbreaks of pandemic proportions have been known to humanity for a long time: these include the famous “Black Death” - a plague pandemic that devastated Europe in the 500th century, and the “Spanish flu”, which infected about 50 million people around the world at the beginning of the 100th century, including XNUMX to XNUMX million died. The pandemic includes tuberculosis, from which every fourth European died in the XNUMXth century, and the current spread of HIV.

In the 2003st century, we were also greatly frightened by the outbreaks of SARS (SARS, 2003), bird flu (2012), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, 2014), Ebola fever (2015-2016), Zika fever (XNUMX). Modern diseases have had fewer victims than the Spanish flu or the plague. However, let us remember: the word “pandemic” does not mean the mortality rate, but the scale of spread.

On the subject: Cholera, smallpox, 'spanish': the most terrible pandemics in human history

How dangerous is the current outbreak?

A vaccine has not yet been developed for the new coronavirus. At the same time, experts say that mortality from SARS-CoV-2 so far does not exceed the level of normal seasonal flu.

The situation with the current virus is aggravated by the fact that its carriers often do not have any symptoms and are not aware of their illness. In some people, the disease manifested itself many days after they “caught” the virus. It is for this reason that everyone who has been exposed to the risk of infection is sent to long-term quarantine (up to 14 days).

In the fight against the virus, it is important to limit the spread as quickly as possible. To do this, it is recommended to wash your hands thoroughly and avoid close contact with people.

British doctors talk about the benefits of self-isolation: Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical adviser, said on BBC Radio that delaying a possible outbreak is worth at least to gain more time to study the virus and develop a vaccine.

And besides, if an outbreak cannot be avoided, it is better that it occurs in the summer, and not in the winter, when the National Health Service is under a greater load.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Alabama authorities refused to place patients with coronavirus in one of the cities of the state

Fakes and bots: US accused Russia of escalating panic about Chinese coronavirus

American schoolgirl stuck in quarantine in China, but found a way to continue her studies in the USA

In the United States created a vaccine against Chinese coronavirus and are ready to give it to other countries for free

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.