What's to know about coronaviruses?

C

oronaviruses are types of viruses that typically affect the respiratory tract of mammals, including humans. They are associated with the common cold, pneumonia, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and can also affect the gut.

A coronavirus was first isolated in 1937 from an infectious bronchitis virus in birds that has the ability to seriously devastate poultry stocks.

These viruses are responsible for between 15 and 30 percent of common colds.

Over the last 70 years, scientists have found that coronaviruses can infect mice, rats, dogs, cats, turkeys, horses, pigs, and cattle. Most recently, authorities identified a coronavirus outbreak in China that has now reached other countries.

This MNT Knowledge Center article will focus on the different types of human coronaviruses, their symptoms, how they are transmitted, and two particularly dangerous diseases that can be caused by coronaviruses: SARS and MERS.

Fast facts on coronaviruses

• There is no cure for the common cold.
• A coronavirus causes both SARS and MERS.
• Coronaviruses infect many different species.
• There are six known human coronaviruses.
• SARS spread from China to cause infection in 37 countries, killing 774 people.

What are coronaviruses?

Share on PinterestCoronaviruses can cause flu-like symptoms and respiratory symptoms.

Human coronaviruses (HCoV) were first identified in the 1960s in the noses of patients with the common cold. Two human coronaviruses are responsible for a large proportion of common colds OC43 and 229E.

Coronaviruses were given their name based on the crown-like projections on their surfaces. “Corona” in Latin means “halo” or “crown.”

Among humans, infection most often occurs during the winter months as well as early spring. It is not uncommon for a person to become ill with a cold that is caused by a coronavirus and then catch it again about four months later.

This is because coronavirus antibodies do not last for a very long time. Also, the antibodies for one strain of coronavirus may be useless against other strains.

Symptoms

Cold- or flu-like symptoms usually set in from two to four days after coronavirus infection, and they are typically mild. However, symptoms vary from person to person, and some forms of the virus can be fatal.

Symptoms include:

• sneezing
• a runny nose
• fatigue
• a cough
• in rare cases, fever
• a sore throat
• exacerbated asthma

Human coronaviruses cannot be cultivated in the laboratory easily, unlike the rhinovirus, another cause of the common cold. This makes it difficult to gauge the coronavirus’ impact on national economies and public health.

There is no cure, so treatments include taking care of yourself and over-the-counter (OTC) medication:

• Rest and avoid overexertion.
• Drink enough water.
• Avoid smoking and smoky areas.
• Take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen to reduce pain and fever.
• Use a clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer.

The virus responsible can be diagnosed by taking a sample of respiratory fluids, such as mucus from the nose, or blood.

Top of Form

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY NEWSLETTER

Stay in the know. Get our free daily newsletter

Expect in-depth, science-backed toplines of our best stories every day. Tap in and keep your curiosity satisfied.

Enter your email

SIGN UP NOW

Your privacy is important to us

Bottom of Form

Types

Different types of human coronaviruses vary in the severity of illness they cause and how far they can spread.

There are currently seven recognized types of coronavirus that can infect humans.

Common types include:

• 229E (alpha coronavirus)
• NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
• OC43 (beta coronavirus)
• HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

Rarer, more dangerous types include MERS-CoV, which causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV), the coronavirus responsible for SARS. In 2019, a dangerous new strain started circulating, but it does not yet have an official name. Health authorities are currently referring to it as 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov).

Transmission

Share on PinterestContagious diseases can spread through coughing without covering the mouth.

There has not been a great deal of research on how a human coronavirus spreads from one person to the next.

However, it is believed that the viruses transmit using secreted fluid from the respiratory system.

Coronaviruses can spread in the following ways:

• Coughing and sneezing without covering the mouth can disperse droplets into the air, spreading the virus.
• Touching or shaking hands with a person that has the virus can pass the virus from one person to another.
• Making contact with a surface or object that has the virus and then touching your nose, eyes, or mouth.
• On rare occasions, a coronavirus may spread through contact with feces.

People in the U.S. are more likely to contract the disease in the winter or fall. The disease is still active during the rest of the year. Young people are most likely to contract a coronavirus, and people can contract more than one infection over the course of a lifetime. Most people will become infected with at least one coronavirus in their life.

It is said that the mutating abilities of the coronavirus are what make it so contagious.

To prevent transmission, be sure to stay at home and rest while experiencing symptoms and avoid close contact with other people. Covering the mouth and nose with a tissue or handkerchief while coughing or sneezing can also help prevent the spread of a coronavirus. Be sure to dispose of any used tissues and maintain hygiene around the home.

2019-nCov

In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started monitoring the outbreak of a new coronavirus. Authorities first identified the virus in Wuhan, China. They have named it 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov).

More than 1,000 people have contracted the virus in China. Health authorities have identified several other people with 2019-nCov around the world, including five individuals in the United States. On January 31, 2020, the virus passed from one person to another in the U.S. The World Health Organization (WHO) have declared a public health emergency relating to 2019-nCov.

Some of the first people with 2019-nCov had links to an animal and seafood market. This initially suggested that animals transmit the virus to humans. However, people with a more recent diagnosis had no connections with or exposure to the market, suggesting that humans can pass the virus to each other.

Information on the virus is scarce at present. In the past, respiratory conditions that develop from coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, have spread through close contacts.

However, while some viruses are highly contagious, it is less clear with coronaviruses as to how rapidly they will spread.

Symptoms vary from person to person with a 2019-nCov infection. It may produce few or no symptoms. However, it can also lead to severe illness and may be fatal. Common symptoms include:

• fever
• breathlessness
• cough

It may take 2–14 days for a person to notice symptoms after infection. As of January 31, 2020, the virus carries a death rate of 10%, according to a study of 99 people with 2019-nCov.

No vaccine is currently available for 2019-nCov. However, scientists in China and now Australia have replicated the virus. This could allow for early detection and treatment in people who have the virus but are not yet showing symptoms.

SARS

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was a contagious disease caused by the SARS-CoV coronavirus. It typically led to a life-threatening form of pneumonia.

The virus started off in the Guangdong Province in southern China in November 2002, eventually reaching Hong Kong. From there, it rapidly spread around the world, infecting people in 37 countries.

SARS-CoV is unique. It can infect both the upper and lower respiratory tract and can also cause gastroenteritis.

The symptoms of SARS develop over the course of a week and start with a fever. Early on in the condition, people develop flu-like symptoms, such as:

• dry coughing
• chills
• diarrhea
• breathlessness
• aches

Pneumonia, a severe lung infection, may develop afterward. At its most advanced stage, SARS causes failure of the lungs, heart, or liver.

During the epidemic, there were 8,098 confirmed cases of SARS with 774 fatalities. This is equal to a mortality rate of 9.6 percent. Complications were more likely in older adults, and half of all infected people over the age of 65 years who became ill did not survive. It was eventually brought under control in July 2003.

MERS

Share on PinterestMERS is a potentially fatal coronavirus.

MERS, caused by the MERS-CoV coronavirus, was first recognized in 2012. This severe respiratory illness first surfaced in Saudi Arabia and, since then, has spread to other countries. The virus has reached the U.S., and the largest outbreak outside the Arabian Peninsula occurred in South Korea in 2015.

Symptoms include fever, breathlessness, and coughing. The illness spreads through close contact with people who have already been infected. However, all cases of MERS are linked to individuals who have recently returned from travel to the Arabian Peninsula.

Source: MediaclNewsToday

CDC: New cases of novel coronavirus reported in US

T

he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced two new cases of novel coronavirus in the United States, bringing the total to five across four states.

Share on PinterestThe affected individuals had returned from Wuhan, a city in the Hubei province in China.

Recently, reports of a coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province have flooded the world’s news. The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causes respiratory illness of varying severity.

Initially, the authorities believed that viral transmission was occurring solely from animal-to-human at a particular animal market in the region. However, in many later cases, people had not had access to these markets, making human-to-human transmission likely.

To date, 2019-nCoV has infected thousands of people in China, predominantly in the Hubei province. Experts have linked about 80 deaths to 2019-nCoV, all in China.

Top of Form

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY NEWSLETTER

Stay in the know. Get our free daily newsletter

Expect in-depth, science-backed toplines of our best stories every day. Tap in and keep your curiosity satisfied.

Enter your email

SIGN UP NOW

Your privacy is important to us

Bottom of Form

Beyond China

There are now a growing number of cases appearing in countries outside of China, including Taiwan, Australia, Japan, France, Thailand, Vietnam, and Nepal.

The identification of the first infection in the U.S. took place on January 21 in the state of Washington. Now, the CDC have announced two new cases on U.S. soil, in Arizona and California. Both of these individuals had recently returned from Wuhan, China, and laboratory tests that the CDC carried out confirmed that they had contracted 2019-nCoV. In the press release, the CDC write:

“CDC is leaning forward with an aggressive public health response strategy and working closely with state and local public health authorities to identify potential cases early and make sure patients get the best and most appropriate care.”

Human infection with coronaviruses is common, but they usually cause nothing more than a cold. A range of animals are also susceptible to coronaviruses, but these viruses do not tend to transmit to humans.

However, in some cases, an animal coronavirus can jump from animal to human. For instance, the viruses that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2012.

How dangerous is 2019-nCoV?

It is not yet clear how virulent 2019-nCoV might be. The CDC explain that “reported illnesses have ranged from infected people with little to no symptoms to people being severely ill and dying.”

Symptoms include fever, a cough, and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, the infection can lead to pneumonia. Symptoms might begin as soon as 2 days after infection, or they could take as long as 2 weeks to appear.

The CDC expect that more cases will appear in the U.S. over the coming days and weeks. They write that “[w]hile this is a serious public health threat, CDC continues to believe the immediate risk to the U.S. general public is low at this time.”

They underline the fact that “risk is dependent on exposure.” The CDC have published guidance for people who work in healthcare settings and might encounter individuals with the virus. They have also published separate guidelines for people who have the infection and those with whom they live.

Unsurprisingly, the CDC recommend that people avoid traveling to Hubei province unless it is entirely necessary. Overall, though, the CDC are asking for calm:

“For the general public, no additional precautions are recommended at this time beyond the simple daily precautions that everyone should always take. It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and flu activity is still high and expected to continue for a number of weeks. CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine, taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed.”

Source: MedicalNewsToday

What are the true costs of smell loss?

Millions of people in the United States and around the world experience some degree of smell loss or dysfunction of their sense of smell. This can have a severe impact on individuals’ well-being, as a new study demonstrates.

According to data from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, almost 1 in 4 people over the age of 40 in the U.S. experience a change in their sense of smell.

This change could be partial or total smell loss, smell distortion, or even phantom smells, and these issues can result from a range of factors.

“There are many causes — from infections and injury to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and as a side effect of some medications,” says Prof. Carl Philpott, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, in the United Kingdom.

Recently, Prof. Philpott and colleagues set out to understand just how life changing the loss of smell can be. As the team’s study revealed, such a change can have a profound impact on people’s well-being.

The investigators report their findings in a study paper that appears in the journal Clinical Otolaryngology.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

‘We wanted to find out more’

The best-known effect of smell loss is the impact on how well the person is able to taste, since smell and taste are closely interlinked.

“Most patients suffer a loss of flavor perception, which can affect appetite and can be made even worse if distortions in their sense of smell also coexist,” says Prof. Philpott.

Yet this is not the only way in which impairment to smell, one of evolution’s earliest senses, affects a person’s life.

“Previous research has shown that people who have lost their sense of smell also report high rates of depression, anxiety, isolation, and relationship difficulties,” Prof. Philipott notes.

“We wanted to find out more about how a loss of smell affects people.”

To do this, the team recruited 71 participants aged 31–80 who were affected by smell disorders and who had received support from The Smell & Taste Clinic at the James Paget University Hospital, in Gorleston-On-Sea.

The research team also collaborated with Fifth Sense, a U.K.-based charity for people living with smell and taste disorders.

The participants described their experiences in their own words. After reading and analyzing these accounts, the researchers found that people with smell disorders can experience a range of issues that affect day-to-day life, including relationships.

The effects involved a negative impact on mental and emotional health, social isolation, and increased risks to other aspects of physical health, as well as financial difficulties associated with receiving the necessary support.

“One really big problem [that participants reported],” says Prof. Philipott, “was around hazard perception — not being able to smell food that had gone off or not being able to smell gas or smoke.”

“This had resulted in serious near misses for some,” he emphasizes, calling smell “a lifesaving sense.”

The researcher also spoke of this sense’s “life enhancing” qualities, which means that, when smell becomes impaired, a person’s overall enjoyment of life may diminish.

“A large number of the participants no longer enjoyed eating, and some had lost appetite and weight,” observes Prof. Philipott.

Also, the team found that smell loss could affect the content of the diet. Some participants “were eating more food with low nutritional value that was high in fat, salt, and sugar — and had consequently gained weight,” the researcher adds.

‘A negative impact on relationships’

Many study participants reported that their loss of smell meant that they could no longer participate in social activities, such as cooking for friends and family, which made them feel isolated.

“Participants had lost interest in preparing food, and some said they were too embarrassed to serve dishes to family and friends, which had an impact on their social lives,” explains Prof. Philipott.

And, since people have cherished memories of different smells — a perfume associated with a loved one, for instance, or the smell of freshly cut grass in the garden of a childhood home — some participants felt that they had lost important connections with people and places.

“The inability to link smells to happy memories was also a problem. Bonfire night, Christmas smells, perfumes and people — all gone. Smells link us to people, places, and emotional experiences. And people who have lost their sense of smell miss out on all those memories that smell can evoke,” he notes.

Smell loss also led to feelings of anxiety and inadequacy, since many participants were worried about not being able to sense their own body odor, for instance.

“We found that personal hygiene was a big cause for anxiety and embarrassment, because the participants couldn’t smell themselves,” says Prof. Philipott.

Moreover, the researcher notes, “Parents of young children couldn’t tell when their nappies needed changing, and this led to feelings of failure.”

“One mother,” he adds, “found it difficult bonding with her new baby because she couldn’t smell him.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, for many people, these obstacles lead to difficulty in maintaining the quality of relationships.

“Many participants described a negative impact on relationships — ranging from not enjoying eating together to an impact on sexual relationships.”

– Prof. Carl Philpott

A lack of connection with doctors

The researchers emphasize that the problems linked with loss of smell significantly affected participants’ mental and emotional health, leading to anger, depression, anxiety, frustration, and a decrease in confidence.

People who took part in the study also reported frustration with the fact that many healthcare practitioners do not understand the full impact of smell disorders.

“The participants described a lot of negative and unhelpful interactions with healthcare professionals,” says Prof. Philpott.

“Those that did manage to get help and support were very pleased — even if nothing could be done about their condition, they were very grateful for advice and understanding,” he notes.

Duncan Boak — the founder and chair of Fifth Sense — who did not contribute to this study, also emphasizes that smell loss “can have a huge impact on people’s quality of life in many ways, as this research demonstrates.”

However, he hopes that, thanks to this and future studies, people who are affected by smell disorders will start to receive better support.

 Source: Medical News Today

The link between abdominal fat and repeat heart attacks

Scientists already know that stomach fat — known as abdominal obesity — increases the risk of having a first heart attack. But new research finds that having excessive fat in this specific area also increases risk of subsequent heart attacks.

 “The reason abdominal obesity is very common in people with a first heart attack is that it is closely linked with conditions that accelerate the clogging of arteries through atherosclerosis,” explains study author Dr. Hanieh Mohammadi, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

“These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and insulin resistance (diabetes) as well as raised blood lipid levels.”

However, Dr. Mohammadi says the team’s results “suggest that there may be other mechanisms associated with abdominal obesity that are independent of these risk factors and remain unrecognized.”

Although a relatively understudied area, the link between stomach fat and recurring heart attacks was so distinct that the study’s authors believe that healthcare professionals should use waist circumference to identify at-risk patients.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

The largest study

The research, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, did not just look at recurrent heart attacks, but also at ischemic strokes and coronary heart disease death that occurred after an initial heart attack.

The study involved more than 22,000 participants aged 35–77, making it the largest study on the topic, to date. The Swedish team enlisted people from the country’s SWEDEHEART cardiac registry. Almost 17,000 were male.

The researchers followed each participant for around 4 years after their heart attack. The team used the data from the participants’ initial hospital visits and further check-ups.

The first follow-up visit took place between 4 and 10 weeks after the person had a heart attack, and the second took place between 12 and 14 months after the cardiovascular incident.

During these visits, the researchers identified cardiovascular risk factors via a standardized survey.

The researchers measured the participants’ waist circumferences along with weight, height, blood pressure, electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm, and levels of blood lipids and glucose.

They calculated waist circumference — the main focus of the research — by measuring the stomach between the last rib and the iliac crest, which is the most prominent part of the pelvis.

A link to remember

Independent researchers associated abdominal obesity with both fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and strokes, even when they took other cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking and blood pressure, into account.

In fact, the team concluded that stomach fat was a more vital indicator of recurrent heart attacks than general obesity.

The majority of the study’s participants exhibited abdominal obesity (78% of men and 90% of women). The researchers defined obesity in this area as a circumference of 94 cm or more for males and 80 cm or more for females.

Secondary prevention treatments also had no effect on the relationship between stomach fat and recurrent cardiovascular incidents; a finding that was “previously unknown,” according to Dr. Mohammadi.

Doctors typically give secondary prevention treatments to patients “after their first attack to prevent second events,” Dr. Mohammadi says. These treatments work “by reducing risk factors associated with heart attack and stroke, such as high blood sugar, lipids, and blood pressure.”

“In our study,” Dr. Mohammadi continues, “patients with increasing levels of abdominal obesity still had a raised risk for recurrent events despite being on therapies that lower traditional risk factors connected with abdominal obesity — such as anti-hypertensives, diabetes medication, and lipid lowering drugs.”

Notable gender differences

As well as being the first study to find that secondary prevention treatment has no effect on recurrent risk if abdominal obesity is present, the research is also the first to analyze by sex.

When examined separately, males and females demonstrated certain differences. The link between waist circumference and subsequent heart attacks was stronger in men, for example.

But, in females, the lowest risk did not mean having the smallest waist circumference. Instead, it was the mid-range circumference that decreased a female’s risk of recurrent events.

Dr. Mohammadi has a theory: “Some studies have suggested that abdominal obesity may be more directly associated with the evil visceral fat (fat that sits around your organs) in men compared to women.

“In women, it is thought that a greater portion of the abdominal fat is constituted by subcutaneous fat, which is relatively harmless.”

These differences, however, need further examination as “there were three times as many men in the study compared to women, contributing to less statistical power in the female group.”

Source: Medical News Today