{"id":391,"date":"2020-04-16T03:30:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T01:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicallib.co.za\/health-info\/?p=391"},"modified":"2022-07-08T23:05:47","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T21:05:47","slug":"the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicallib.co.za\/health-info\/the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-40px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/medicallib.co.za\/health-info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/photo-1583324113626-70df0f4deaab.jpg” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-44px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-29px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text content_tablet=”” content_phone=”” content_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ text_line_height=”2em” custom_margin_tablet=”-5px||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-10px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

What is a coronavirus?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses with crown-like spikes on their surface when viewed under a microscope. These viruses are zootic in nature meaning they are mostly found in animals or mostly cause diseases in animals. However they can be transmitted from animals to humans and usually cause cold-like symptoms or respiratory illnesses. A coronavirus in an animal can evolve (or mutate) to a new coronavirus that causes diseases in human and because it is new, a new name will have to be given to it. Seven coronavirus have so far made their way to humans: 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, the \u201cSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus\u201d (SARS-CoV), first reported in China in 2002 and the \u201cSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2\u201d (SARS-CoV-2) first reported in China in 2019.\u00a0 Among these seven coronaviruses MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have so far been the most deadly. SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the disease Covid-19<\/strong>. It is less deadly than MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV but more contagious. Recent report<\/a><\/strong><\/span> shows that there are two strains of SARS-CoV-2 termed the \u201cL<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cS<\/strong>\u201d types. The S<\/strong> type (about 30 %) is believed to be the ancestral version, it\u2019s milder and less infections while the L <\/strong>type (about 70 %) which emerged later is more prevalent. Both strains however cause Covid-19.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How long does the coronavirus survive on surfaces?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

It is not exactly clear how long the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that causes Covid-19 survives on surfaces. A recent study<\/strong><\/span><\/a> however shows that 2019-nCoV can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, less than 4 hours on copper and less than 24 hours on cardboard. Another study<\/strong><\/span><\/a> however attempt to compare the novel coronavirus with other known and similar coronavirus and found that the virus can survive for up to 9 days on surfaces depending on conditions such as temperature or humdity. Temperatures above 30 degree does not favour the novel coronavirus. In all cases however it is clear that household disinfectants can remove the virus on surfaces. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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How long does the coronavirus survive on surfaces?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It is not exactly clear how long the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that causes Covid-19 survives on surfaces. A recent study<\/strong><\/span><\/a> however shows that 2019-nCoV can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, less than 4 hours on copper and less than 24 hours on cardboard.\u00a0 Another study<\/strong><\/span><\/a> however attempt to compare the novel coronavirus with other known and similar coronavirus and found that the virus can survive for up to 9 days on surfaces depending on conditions such as temperature or humdity. Temperatures above 30 degree does not favour the novel coronavirus. In all cases however it is clear that household disinfectants can remove the virus on surfaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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What is Coronavirus Disease 2019?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Coronavirus diseases 2019 (Covid-19) or novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) is an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.\u00a0 It is an acute respiratory disease which cause flu-like symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Symptoms of Covid-19<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Depending on the individual infected, it can take 2 to 14 days for symptoms of Covid-19 to become evident.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Common Symptoms include<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n