The beginning of the new year has brought with itself a new challenge, that of a viral infection, termed for now, the new coronavirus. A hitherto innocuous infection starting from a seafood market in a neighbouring country, people affected nine with an unidentified cause of a chest infection in a little over a dozen people; the numbers escalated rapidly, and within blinking time involved about two hundred infected patients, some of them critical, and some who have succumbed.

What is novel about the virus ? It’s known to cause the common cold in approximately 30% of affected people in a normal regular year. But there is a flipside to the virus.The coronavirus has already been identified in the  SARS global epidemic that resulted in a large number of affected patients globally, in excess of eight thousand people. On current information, aquatic creatures are not known to transmit such viruses, so a seafood outbreak is unlikely. In the persons involved, a human-to-human transmission has been identified. The likeliest organ involvement is the lungs, followed by the gut. Traditionally these infections affect people whose immune systems are sub-optimal, although this infection appears to be also affecting young individuals with no obvious illnesses. As of now, there is no antidote or vaccine, so treatments are entirely supportive in nature.

In first principles of infectious diseases, the worst bugs are contained by breaking the cycle of human contact, or maintaining contact in a state of sterility. If you feel there is the beginning of an infection, you are best advised to see your doctor or go to the nearest hospital. Keeping yourself away from others until a diagnosis is made or symptoms resolve is advised. Travel to affected areas or contact with people from those areas should be only after checking government advisories.

This is an evolving event: certainly we haven’t heard the last of it, nor do we know enough about this version of the coronavirus. It is necessary to be cautious and guarded without being alarmed, and be aware of information that is authentic and not driven to panic. Viral infections tend to undergo changes in cycles, and leave a signature pattern when they end their cycles for the scientific community to study, and prepare. The signature of this version of the virus will be limited hopefully, and leave without anymore mayhem.