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The 2019-nCov coronavirus, which was discovered in Wuhan in late 2019, belongs to the same group of viruses as SARS and causes similar respiratory symptoms. No wonder the two viruses are compared. What are the differences and similarities between SARS and the Wuhan coronavirus?
Both viruses first appeared in China. The 2019-nCov coronavirus appeared in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and SARS was first discovered in Guandong Province. Both viruses can be caught from animals, probably bats, which are the first source of the virus. In the case of SARS, the bats contracted civets (a type of mammal – ed.), And in the case of the Wuhan virus – snakes. Man got infected from animals sold at the market. Both viruses are also transmitted from person to person.
– Coronaviruses are present in our lives practically all the time. If we catch a cold or have a runny nose, it is probably caused by the coronavirus. In the case of SARS and the Wuhan virus, the infection appeared after contact with animals. There are also similarities in the genome of these viruses. The Wuhan virus has a genome of 80 percent. similar to SARS – explains prof. related dr hab. Krzysztof Simon, a Lower Silesian infectious disease consultant, adds: – SARS appeared suddenly and just as suddenly disappeared. It may be similar with the Wuhan coronavirus.
The Minister of China’s National Health Commission explained that the incubation period for the coronavirus is from 1 to 14 days. The average incubation period for SARS was approximately 5-6 days. What is a problem is the fact that the person infected with the coronavirus continues to pass it on even if they have not yet developed symptoms, making it much more difficult to control the spread of the virus. Chinese scientists believe that one person can infect three to five people. WHO estimates that this value is lower, ranging from 1,4 to 2,5 people.
Symptoms from SARS and the Wuhan coronavirus are similar. They look like the flu – there is high fever, muscle aches, weakness, cough and sore throat. Then there is shortness of breath and breathing problems. Viral pneumonia can develop and can be fatal for immunocompromised people, children, pregnant women, and those who are chronically ill.
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SARS spread slower than the Wuhan coronavirus. During the eight-month SARS pandemic, 8 cases of virus infection and 096 deaths were recorded. Meanwhile, nearly 774 people contracted the Wuhan coronavirus in a month. 8 deaths were also confirmed (as of 000:170, 7/15/30.01.2020). For comparison, there were 28 deaths in the first month of the SARS pandemic.
– In the case of SARS, the mortality rate reached 10%. In the case of the Wuhan virus, this mortality is relatively low (WHO reports about 2,3% of the editorial note) – adds prof. Simon.
Zobacz: Coronavirus from China. People could get infected from snakes
In the case of SARS, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency, recognizing SARS infections as a pandemic. This was probably due to the fact that the Chinese government concealed the spread of SARS in the country. It did not inform WHO about SARS until 88 days after the first case was discovered.
In the case of the Wuhan coronavirus, the Chinese government reacted faster to the threat and immediately notified the WHO of the problem. In addition, Chinese public health experts have worked to share data on the new coronavirus with other scientists as soon as possible so that they can start work on stopping it. It took four months for the SARS genome to be brought to light.
Check: Everything we know about coronaviruses
It also seems that the Chinese authorities are better prepared for the 2019-nCov coronavirus than they were for SARS. Quarantine decisions were quickly made, public transport was limited, airports and ferries were closed. In the case of SARS, the decision to introduce such precautions took four months. Anthony Fauci, a disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, told CNBC that China is far better at dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus than it is with SARS.
What coronavirus has in common with Wuhan and SARS is that there is no effective vaccination against both viruses. Even though 17 years have passed since the SARS pandemic, no effective cure has yet been found. According to WHO recommendations, patients who were diagnosed with SARS were subjected to isolation, maintaining stringent epidemic barriers. SARS has been tried to be treated with drugs used to treat influenza, viral hepatitis, and HIV, but there are no studies to support the treatment.
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There are also no effective drugs for the Wuhan virus. Research to develop 2019-nCov coronavirus vaccines is ongoing, but even if we assume an optimistic scenario, the first vaccinations will be prepared for clinical trials in 16 weeks. The Chinese government is also testing drugs used to treat HIV against the coronavirus. However, it is not known how effective this drug is.
– I believe that there is no need to panic unnecessarily. Of course, you have to take precautions. The greatest misfortune is the fact that there is no effective treatment against this type of coronavirus. While, for example, we can treat the flu causally, in this case there is no such treatment – adds the expert.
Current reports on the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, the number of people infected and deaths, as well as those cured can be found at: Coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus [MAP]
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