AHMEDABAD: The novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is not our first brush with a zoonotic (pathogen spread from animals to humans) coronavirus, but is more contagious and fortunately less deadly, said Dr Surabhi Madan, infectious diseases consultant, at a public lecture on Covid-19 at Science City on Thursday.
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“There have been six or seven widely known coronaviruses, including the 2003 SARS strain and 2012’s MERS virus. Four cause mild diseases, including 15% of upper respiratory infections (URIs). Covid-19 is different. It is more contagious and less deadly than SARS and MERS, the number of cases were in the few thousands and mortality rates were 10-11% for SARS and 37% for MERS. As of now, Covid-19 has more than a lakh known cases across the globe and mortality rates of 2% to 4%, depending on the country,” said Dr Madan.
She added that the virus is thought to spread through droplets and there is no evidence to show it can spread through the air. “It is thus advised that one should keep a distance of about six feet from an infected person. About 99% of cases manifest in two to 14 days of infection,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared Covid-19 a pandemic, due to its global spread. This strain has not previously been seen in humans. The WHO website says that several known coronaviruses circulating in animals have not yet infected humans.
Dr Madan advised the audience not to panic and blindly following information from social media. “Prevention is better than cure, disinfect your hands frequently. There is no need to wear masks if you are not a medical professional or are not infected,” she said.
Coronavirus outbreak live updates
“There have been six or seven widely known coronaviruses, including the 2003 SARS strain and 2012’s MERS virus. Four cause mild diseases, including 15% of upper respiratory infections (URIs). Covid-19 is different. It is more contagious and less deadly than SARS and MERS, the number of cases were in the few thousands and mortality rates were 10-11% for SARS and 37% for MERS. As of now, Covid-19 has more than a lakh known cases across the globe and mortality rates of 2% to 4%, depending on the country,” said Dr Madan.
She added that the virus is thought to spread through droplets and there is no evidence to show it can spread through the air. “It is thus advised that one should keep a distance of about six feet from an infected person. About 99% of cases manifest in two to 14 days of infection,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared Covid-19 a pandemic, due to its global spread. This strain has not previously been seen in humans. The WHO website says that several known coronaviruses circulating in animals have not yet infected humans.
Dr Madan advised the audience not to panic and blindly following information from social media. “Prevention is better than cure, disinfect your hands frequently. There is no need to wear masks if you are not a medical professional or are not infected,” she said.
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