What is the Coronavirus (Corona) Virus?
First seen in Wuhan region of China in early December 2019, the new coronavirus, also known as the unofficial Wuhan coronavirus, is a contagious virus that can cause respiratory infection and can be passed from person to person, as it was identified by the authorities in this region.
The official name of the virus has been determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2). The World Health Organization uses the term COVID-19 to describe the disease caused by the virus.
On January 30, 2020, CoViD-19 was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. On March 11, 2020, the virus was declared as a pandemic, that is, a global epidemic.
What is New Coronavirus? (Covid-19)
The new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a new viral respiratory disease that was first identified with high fever and shortness of breath in Wuhan, China, on January 13, 2020. It is known that the disease is transmitted by droplets and contact. It is defined as a pandemic due to the global epidemic it creates.
The new coronavirus is a type of coronavirus family that can affect both animals and humans. In retrospect, some different viruses from the coronavirus family seem to cause severe respiratory diseases such as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
Coronaviruses are named with the word corona, which means crown in Latin, because they are compared to a round crown with protrusions when viewed with an electron microscope.
Coronaviruses have been seen in our society for years. The simplest and most common of these is the common cold. A group of 20 different types of viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infection with a runny nose is also coronavirus.
Many other coronaviruses from the coronavirus family cause milder illnesses with milder symptoms than the new coronavirus. For this reason, coronaviruses have not caused any panic when it comes to diseases such as colds.
From time to time, coronaviruses can switch between humans and animals. The genetic information of viruses varies due to the mutation of their RNA. It escapes from the previously formed immune system, especially by clinging to the cell in surface proteins, creating changes in the proteins it uses to enter, and can multiply faster and cause much more damage to the cells.
The virus, previously called SARS, has created a disease very similar to today’s new coronavirus. The name SARS was created using the initials of the English equivalent of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The second SARS virus analogy is also used for the coronavirus, which is on the agenda today.
Apart from this, another virus from the coronavirus family came to the world agenda with its potential to cause serious disease and the epidemics it caused. The disease called MERS, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, caused by a coronavirus species that transmitted from camels to humans, has for a while created an epidemic in the Middle East region.
However, since the effects of MERS in terms of disease are not seen all over the world, it is not called a pandemic. MERS is still seen as phenomena from time to time in the Middle East region.
The globally accepted name of the coronavirus disease, which we are currently seeing, was first identified in 2019, is CoViD-19.