The Outbreaks of Coronavirus | Full Story of Coronavirus

We all have heard about the virus called Coronavirus. This New Virus emerged from the city of Wuhan, China. One of China’s largest cities, with an estimated population of approximately more than 11 Million! The virus had mild symptoms like dry cough, fever, breathing issues and basically affected the nose, throat, sinus, and mouth.

At first, it was thought out to be a small infection that would eventually go away with a little bit of medication. But later on, scientists concluded that the virus is more harmful and deadly. In some cases led to Pneumonia and even Death. It is due to Novel CoronaVirus which comes from a family of viruses that cause the common cold. But do you know the full story of coronavirus? There have been numerous outbreaks of coronavirus throughout history. Let’s take a deep look at those terrible outbreaks of coronavirus that took many lives.

What Coronavirus Is?

Corona Viruses have emerged from a family of viruses. The family contains strains that can cause deadly and harmful diseases in animals. The Corona Virus was first described in the 1960s.

This is where it got its name Distinctive Corona or Crown of Sugary Proteins (Shape of the Protein). The source of the so-called CoronaVirus is still unknown. But it is believed to have been transmitted from Bats. An earlier Epidemic that had emerged in China, was also linked to bats Called SARS!

The Very First Coronavirus

It was the 1960s when coronavirus was first discovered. The earliest ones discovered were two viruses from the nasal cavities of patients suffering from the common cold. It was subsequently named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43.

These two species mainly infects humans and bats. These are the two of the main viruses responsible for causing common cold in human beings. These viruses are globally distributed. Several countries so far have seen cases of the disease. However, there are no serious issues to panic about these kinds as it causes common cold only. But, in severe cases, it may cause serious diseases like pneumonia.

The SARS Outbreaks in 2002

The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) Outbreak in 2002 was somewhat similar to the Corona Virus. Because of its symptoms and sources but it is clearly not the same. The strain of Corona Viruses called SARS-CoV caused SARS. The origin of this was in Foshan, China in November 2002. The virus infected over 8,000 people. This outbreak of coronavirus led to about 800 deaths and influenza-like diseases in about 26 countries including China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam and many more.

The outbreaks of coronavirus NL63 or HCoV-NL63 

In late 2004 one more species of coronavirus was identified in a seven-month-old child with bronchiolitis disease in Holland. The virus is most common mainly in young children, the aged ones, and immunocompromised patients. It has its association with temperate climates. An investigation performed in Amsterdam estimated the presence of HCoV-NL63 in approximately 4.7% of common respiratory illnesses. Moreover, studies also confirmed that the virus is not an emerging or evolving virus, but the one that continuously circulating in the human population. The virus originated from infected palm civets (a cat-like creature found mainly in Southeast Asia) and bats.

The MERS Outbreaks in 2012, 2015 and 2018

A strain of CoronaVirus caused the MERS( Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The MERS-Cov and was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Camels are a potential source of the disease. According to WHO (The World Health Organisation ), there have been about 2,500 cases of infection in 27 countries, resulting in nearly about 860 deaths.

Again many outbreaks of coronavirus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) took place in some regions of South Korea from the month of May 2015 to July 2015. 

The virus, which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), was a beta coronavirus. It was the same as the one that infected the patient from Saudi Arabia in April 2012. From these outbreaks of coronavirus, approximately 186 cases of infected along with 36 deaths have come to light.

On June 18, 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that there were 75 cases of MERS in Saudi Arabia. The first case was observed outside of the Middle East was diagnosed on August 23, 2018, in the United Kingdom. Scientists detected the second case of coronavirus on September 8, 2018, of a South Korean man who was traveling from the Middle East.

That was the first diagnosis in that country since the 2015 outbreak of coronavirus. Many cases of the disease most likely even occurred in other countries like the United Kingdom as well. However, most of them were not cases of MERS, about which we found out later. This outbreak did not last for a long time. But still, it’s death toll was 41 and will be one of the horrific outbreak of coronavirus.

The Outbreaks of Coronavirus in China

It has emerged from the ‘HUANAN SEAFOOD’ wholesale market (Wet Market) in Wuhan that led to the outbreaks of coronavirus. Reports say that the market sold seafood along with living animals such as hedgehogs, chickens, donkeys, sheep, pigs, foxes and many other animals along with seafood meats.

The market shut down on 1st January 2020. Post the outbreaks for the safety of its citizens, realizing that the source of the outbreaks of coronavirus was The Huanan Seafood market, they shut down the market. The wet markets are basically human seafood markets.

In a wet market, the Vendors often slaughter the animals in front of the customers. This includes a lot of blood, skinning of animals, which makes it easy for the disease-causing microorganisms to transfer from one host to another. The Corona Virus is ‘Zoonotic’ in nature which means that it easily transmits from an animal to a human being. So now you can think of where things went south in The Huanan market of China.

The First case of Corona Virus according to some reports, suggests that it was a 61-year-old man. He regularly went shopping at the Huanan wet market. So far, we have heard about over 30,000 confirmed cases and about 3400 confirmed deaths. Over 2000 people have recovered from the illness according to some sources. These outbreaks of coronavirus in China are proving to be the most fatal and deadliest ones in history.

Present Status

So far the antidote of coronavirus is not available and scientists are putting continuous effort in finding a solution to this catastrophic disaster. But, day by day this virus is spreading a lot in different parts of the world. There have been many outbreaks of coronavirus in many other countries. Cases of coronavirus in India that are also reported and confirmed recently.

Two major cities of India- Delhi, and Hyderabad got some confirmed reports of coronavirus. In Italy also lots of cases are detected. In Guwahati, Assam there has been lots of fear going on due to coronavirus as one report confirmed that one tourist from the USA traveled from all around Italy and got diagnosed with coronavirus in Bhutan. According to some sources, this traveler stopped for about 4 days in Guwahati because of which terrors are spreading in Guwahati as there might have some chances.

Earlier known as CoronaVirus (2019-nCoV) is now called SARS 2. Earlier scientists thought that this disease only transmits from wild animals. But now, the evidence seems to suggest that it can transmit from one person to another mainly through respiratory droplets.

So far more than 3000 people died due to coronavirus and the numbers are still counting. We pray for the souls of the people who became victims of this dangerous virus and we are continuously praying and wishing for a cure for this thing. As scientists are doing their work, so we should also take some steps to prevent coronavirus as much as possible. Look out for the symptoms of coronavirus and consult a doctor if you find any symptoms in yourself or someone near you. Always remember that:

Prevention is better than cure