Author: Gandhi Medicos

Coronavirus has created a pandemic situation in the world. It has already shown its deadly capabilities to make the whole world suffer. Recently, it was discovered that this virus is capable of mutation and I will discuss about that in this article.

Researchers in UK and US have identified that there are hundreds of Coronavirus mutations that can cause COVID-19. However, it has not yet been determined how this mutation will affect the spread of the virus and how a vaccine can affect it. Every virus mutates and same goes for Coronavirus. Hence, scientists and medical experts must examine whether this mutation can cause severe damage or not. Researchers in the US have revealed that there is one notable mutation in the Coronavirus known as D614G that is becoming dominant and is capable of making the disease much more infectious. Researchers in New Mexico are accurately tracking the changes in the “spike” of the Coronavirus that gives it its special shape. This is done by using the database known as the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). They have found that this particular mutation makes the virus grow at a much faster rate, but the consequences are yet unknown.

Some patients from Sheffield who are carrying this mutated Coronavirus have been tested and it was found that though the amount of the virus is more in their samples, there is no report of them becoming more sick or staying in hospital longer than normal Coronavirus patients.

The mutation in the virus is not dangerous until it causes deadly effects on patients. It is also considered that this mutation can actually help in creating the vaccines against this deadly Coronavirus.

INTRODUCTION

The entire world is fighting with the deadly pandemic, i.e. coronavirus, by staying at home. The whole world is waiting for the peaceful day when it would be said that now we have a vaccine for the coronavirus. As we all know, there is no vaccine for the COVID-19 yet, but the research is still being done. The latest updates on the coronavirus vaccine say that the world is approximately 12-18 months away from having access to it. On the other hand, there is still the hope that we can successfully overcome this global pandemic.

VACCINE UPDATES

In the story of coronavirus, different possibilities have been seen, i.e. get a strong immune system for fighting the disease.  The second is a drug. A drug which is capable of containing the disease and the third one is the vaccine. It has been said that there are approximately 100 groups of researchers all around the world who are trying to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Research is being done in different stages from developmental to clinical trials.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE DEVELOPING THE CORONAVIRUS VACCINE?

The United States, Germany, China, India, and the United Kingdom are working to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

Per the news, the University of Oxford is doing research on whether a vaccine that was originally invented for MERS can appear as a boon for the whole world? They are researching whether that vaccine can be used for the treatment of coronavirus or not. A vaccine named chAdOx1 nCoV-19 can help the human body in recognizing the spikes of the coronavirus which are made up of protein. Since this vaccine was already made for MERS, the vaccine passed the initial stages. Currently, it is in the clinical trial phase. Along with this, a vaccine in Germany named BNT162 is also in the clinical trial phase.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, life after lockdown will be totally different from the past years. We don’t have reliable data to analyze when this pandemic could end, and we are learning to live with the situation.

In the industrial sector, even after the end of the lockdown, companies and factories have to maintain proper sanitation, ensure social distancing and follow stringent measures to prevent this virus from spreading among people working in their premises.

In the medical sector, there is great pressure to prepare the vaccine as soon as possible so that the infected population can be cured and gain control over this disease.

While visiting most places after the lockdown, there will probably be temperature sensors in public, and we may still need to follow measures such as social distancing during our normal activities. In all workplaces, there will be quarantine measures to detect infection.

There could be a sudden hike in train and air fares to prevent people from traveling more and get infected from exposure to the disease. A good thing post lockdown would be that migrant workers would be able to earn a living again for their starving families.

Lockdowns have definitely given us some lessons in unity. If everyone living in this country or the world unites to stop something they can do it. But for that, they must have patience and faith in the procedures instituted by governments, as any decision taken by the government would always be in the favor of the public so, instead of opposing them at this crucial time, we should support them.

The world is still fighting with the coronavirus pandemic. It is well-understood that diseases like the coronavirus do not appear suddenly. A very large community of viruses have been around the world for a very long time. Such viruses infect people and cause them to cough as well as have the sniffles. It has been said that before the SARS-CoV-2 happened, COVID was supposed to cause normal respiratory infections and not the severe ones.

The new one, i.e. COVID-19, is causing severe respiratory infections in human beings. It is said that coronavirus is also detected in animals as well for some period of time. Along with this, some scientists are also saying that coronavirus has spread from animals to human beings. According to many professionals, it is not a new virus to the entire world but new to human beings. When doctors noticed that people were getting ill in the year 2019, then the disease was named as coronavirus.

TYPES OF HUMAN CORONAVIRUS

Professionals have categorized the coronaviruses in four groups named as alpha, gamma, beta, and delta. The four most communal viruses of these groups are listed below:

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

Three viruses are also listed below which are not so communal:

• MERS-CoV: This is a beta virus which generally creates Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
• SARS-CoV-2: This caused COVID-19.
• SARS-CoV: This is also a beta virus which makes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS.)

WHY DOES THE VIRUS CHANGE?

All the genetic material of the coronavirus is present in the RNA, which is also known as ribonucleic acid. There are some similarities between RNA and DNA, but they definitely are not completely the same. When a virus infects a person, they get attached to the nails. Through the nails, they enter into the body and make replications of the RNA. If they are mistaken in multiplying themselves, then this makes the RNA change.

As we all should know, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 4.4 million people worldwide in such a short period, leading to 300,000 deaths. The most affected countries by this virus are Italy, Spain, the US, and France.

To survive through this pandemic, every country has had to shut down its working economy for the safety of its population and declared lockdown to various extensions. But what will happen to the condition of this virus after reopening the lockdown?

Everyone wants to know the answer to this question; if the virus spreads more vigorously and leads to more deaths, we will have to start learning to live with this virus eventually. After the lockdown is over, all people will be advised to practice social distancing, wear masks everywhere possible, and maintain proper sanitization. After reopening of lockdown, coronavirus might spread actively due to more crowds assembling at one place, which transmits the virus from an infected person to average person. All the institutions, schools, colleges, factories will be sanitized several times to avoid any possibility of spreading disease, and everyone will be advised to avoid contact with each other. 

There is a good chance of an increase in cases of this virus as soon as the lockdown ends, due to the rise of exposure at a time. As for now, the lockdown has controlled the cases by limiting the people’s exposure to openly crowded areas. Some positive effects of this lockdown have been seen, such as the declining rate of positive cases, healing of the infected population, healing of atmosphere and nature, which leads to fresh air in the surroundings, reduction in the number of vehicles on the road nowadays. Most importantly, people who were very busy with their routine life before lockdown now have more free time to spend their time with their family.

Coronavirus has taken a toll on the entire world. Currently, there are over 4.12 million active cases and 283K deaths in the whole world. This deadly virus has two types of victims, symptomatic and asymptomatic victims. Symptomatic victims are those that have typical symptoms like fever, dry cough, tiredness, and many more. In contrast, asymptomatic victims are those victims who are carrying the deadly virus but do not show any effects from it.

This article will focus on asymptomatic patients. These patients do not realize that they are carrying this deadly coronavirus, so they continue to lead an everyday life like they usually do. They meet other people and spend close moments with the family without even realizing they are continually spreading the virus. Researchers have revealed that there are three types of silent spreaders of this deadly virus.

• Mildly Symptomatic: These patients show very mild or little symptoms like mild fever or cough and can feel a low down. These symptoms are often confused with normal cough and colds so that it can spread the virus very quickly without anyone’s knowledge.
• Presymptomatic: These coronavirus-affected patients do not develop any symptoms for at least a week after coming in contact with it. After a week, they show symptoms like fever and coughing.
• Asymptomatic: These patients do not develop symptoms at all; they carry the virus throughout and spread it without even knowing.

Asymptomatic patients are considered to be more dangerous than other patients because it is tough to identify those patients. The only way to identify them is by doing the tests. The test reports can only reveal these asymptomatic patients. So, it is advised to everyone to have proper precautions and maintain social distancing for the safeguard of the entire world.

The whole world is now facing a pandemic in the form of the coronavirus outbreak. This outbreak has caused a major portion of the world to go under complete lockdown and all the activities and travels have been completely suspended. Most of us are sitting in our homes, worried but this is not the time to be worried, this is the time for us to adopt some simple strategies that can help the nation fight against the COVID-19.

Given below are some of the most simple measures we can effectively use as the most useful strategies in the fight against corona virus and keep ourselves and our families safe.

Social distancing

This is the most simple, yet effective strategy to break the chain of contamination through the virus. Social distancing means minimizing contact with outsiders. The best way to do is to stay at your home and even if you go outside for something important maintain at least 3 feet of distance.

Lockdown

This is something the whole world is going through right now. Lockdown means a complete prohibition on the normal activities sans the emergency services and this is aimed at enforcing social distancing and also to eliminate large gatherings in common places where the virus could transmit. We are under lockdown right now and the health service staffers are working hard for our safety so we must comply with the lockdown and we can win the fight against the coronavirus.

Using masks, sanitizer

Always use sanitizers and wear masks wherever you go. Keeping clean hygiene is the key to prevent transmission and infection from this virus. This is not only for you, but is also for the safety of your family.

Using medicines like hydroxychloroquine

There is no need to panic and take normal medicines like paracetamol as a precaution if you observe signs of illness. But a word of caution, before you consume hydroxychloroquine, it is very strong medicine and therefore consult with a doctor before taking any of them.

New vaccine trials

New vaccine strains are being tested as you read this article. So the health workers and researchers are tirelessly working to get us out of this situation and we must maintain these simple strategies to make their efforts fruitful. This is the time for us to fight against the coronavirus.

COVID-19 is a contagious disease which is caused by a virus named coronavirus discovered in China. There is not any fixed confirmed medicine or vaccine discovered for treatment. The treatment procedures are done according to the various symptoms of patients. Antibiotics are also proving to be ineffective as COVID-19 is not a bacterial infection but a viral infection.

For symptoms which are severe in condition, the supportive treatments can be given. It includes:

• Giving fluids which minimize the chances of dehydration
• Providing medicines for reducing fever
• Facilitating supplemental oxygen in the cases which are severe

People having serious breathing difficulties due to disease of COVID-19 may have a need of a respirator or ventilator.

Some of the drugs used to treat the patients are:

Chloroquine

Chloroquine is a medicine brought in use to fight autoimmune diseases and malaria. It has been used for 70 and more years and is also considered to be safe. After doing studies in test tubes, it is discovered that chloroquine is effective and efficient in fighting this virus.

Kaletra

Ritonavir and lopinavir are the drugs which are sold as Kaletra. These drugs are produced to cure HIV. According to WHO (World Health Organization), this drug in combination with other drugs can benefit in treating COVID-19.

Remdesivir

Remdesivir is a drug used to fight Ebola. It is an antiviral drug which is experimental and has broad spectrum. It is found by researchers that in isolated cells, this drug is impressively effective at combating coronavirus.

The use of this drug is yet to get approval in humans, but it has been tested twice in China. One of the tests also got the approval of FDA in US.

At present, chloroquine is the most effective and is progressively being used in combating COVID-19.

To fully conquer this disease, proper preventive measure like wearing face masks, washing hands with sanitizer or soap oftenly, etc. should be taken. The chain of community transmission can be stopped by contact tracing and mass testing. People should follow social distancing and follow all the medical advisories given by experts.