An emerging infection: Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19)
A cluster of pneumonia like illness was reported in early of December 2019 in Wuhan, a city
of Hubei province of China.i A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of this outbreak and it
belongs to the same class of virus as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which was identified
in 2003. The illness spreads rapidly in the city as well as in the neighboring provinces in China when
it was first identified. ii Increasing number of cases reported has gained attention from World Health
Organisation (WHO) and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In February 2020, WHO
has named the infection as Covid-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The number of
infected individuals continues to spike drastically despite of preventive measures have taken place.
Recently, the general director of WHO declares Covid-19 as pandemic after the alarming spread
across the world.
Transmission of Covid-19 is not completely understood scientifically. It was first described as
animal reservoir since the virus was first found in a seafood market which sold illegal live animals
and most of the infected individuals are the workers. Nevertheless, person-to-person transmission is
also discovered in those individuals who are in close contact with patient. It is believed that airborne
is the main route of transmission. iii Respiratory droplets contain released virus in the secretion, and it
can easily infect another person if there is contact with the mucous membrane. Even though there is
uncertainty of the transmission mode, airborne prevention is recommended in most of the countries
especially in treating patient with suspected infection.
Moreover, high risk individuals who are aged above 65 years and have medical condition are
more vulnerable to get infected by Covid-19. This is because this age group has lower immunity and
awareness on personal hygiene. Clinical presentation of Covid-19 infection is like influenza illness
and SARS. This has made the diagnosis challenging. According to the guideline published by WHO,
influenza has milder presentation in comparison to Covid-19. Recent travel history to affected
countries also makes the diagnosis of Covid-19 more suspicion. Patients with coronavirus infection
will present with fever, fatigue, dry cough and breathing difficulty. iv In critically ill patients, they
might require mechanical ventilation to provide support in breathing. However, the mortality rate of
Covid-19 is lower than SARS. Recovery rate of the infection is comparatively high, and public should
not be extremely worried about getting infected.
From plague in San Francisco to SARS in Asia, and now Covid-19, contagious diseases
continue to threaten and disrupt human population. To aid in controlling the infection from escalating,
research team has been working around the clocks in developing vaccine and medicine which can
effectively treating the infection. There is no definitive treatment has been described so far and only
supportive care has been practiced such as oxygen therapy for respiratory distress patient. Some
clinical trials have been going on in evaluating the efficacy of remdesivir in managing the infection.
Remdesivir has been tested against Covid-19 in vitro and animal studies, but the clinical impact of
remdesivir in human remains unknown. v More research and human testing need to be conducted
before administration of remdesivir to avoid any side effects or contraindications.
Preventive precautions are constantly emphasized by WHO and ministry of health. Taking
care of personal hygiene is the most cost-effective way in preventing the infection from spreading.
There are a few preventive measures that should be practiced routine by the public, for instance
frequent hand washing with soap or sanitizing hands if water is unavailable, wearing a mask if feeling
unwell and avoiding crowded places or common areas. By exercising these, Covid-19 infection can be
slowly reduced to a non-alarming state. Cough etiquette is also an important component in personal
hygiene practice due to coronavirus can be spread easily through respiratory droplets. Evidence has
shown that virus can travel up to the distance of six feet. In short, awareness on hygienic issue is vital
in eliminating the infection.
In conclusion, Covid-19 has become a global health threat and to date it affects more than
150,000 people worldwide with China being the highest in the list. The infection not only affects daily
routine activity, but also country economic growth. Many countries issue travel advisories to the
citizens and most of the flights need to be cancelled due to entry restriction for high risk countries.
This has hit hard to the tourism industry across the world. During this critical period, public should
remain calm and vigilant in coping the illness outbreak. We should also cooperate with the authority
by obeying advices published from reliable sources such as ministry of health and do not spread
unverified news. With collaborations from all the parties, we can overcome the illness if everyone
stays united.
i
The New York Times. The Coronavirus: What Scientists Have Learned So Far. March 10, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-coronavirus.html (Accessed on March 14, 2020)
National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. New coronavirus cases rise to 571 in Chinese
ii
mainland. January 23, 2020. http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2020-01/23/c_76004.htm (Accessed on March 14, 2020).
Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. Coronavirus Disease 2019. March 4, 2020.
iii
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/transmission.html (Accessed on March 14, 2020)
Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus
iv
pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Lancet 2020; 395:507.
v
Wang M, Cao R, Zhang L, et al. Remdesivir and chloroquine effectively inhibit the recently emerged novel
coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in vitro. Cell Res 2020; 30:269.
