CoronaVirus Fact01-How do I know I if I have the Wuhan Coronavirus? The virus can be confirmed with a diagnostic test at the hospital based on the gene sequence of the virus.
CoronaVirus Fact02-Is there a cure for the Wuhan Coronavirus? No.
CoronaVirus Fact03-How deadly is the Wuhan Coronavirus? The fatality rate is about 3%.
CoronaVirus Fact04-Is there a vaccine to prevent getting the Wuhan Coronavirus? No. Vaccines for a new virus can take up to a year to create.
CoronaVirus Fact05-How is the Wuhan Coronavirus transmitted? From person to person through either respiratory droplets or from touching a surface where the virus has been deposited by someone who has the virus.
CoronaVirus Fact06-Where do Coronaviruses start? In animals. The virus can mutate so that occasionally it is passed from person
CoronaVirus Fact07-Do antiviral prescription drugs work for the Wuhan Coronavirus as they do for the flu? No. Not currently.
CoronaVirus Fact08-Can I get the Wuhan Coronavirus from someone who looks and acts perfectly healthy? Yes. If the person has the Wuhan Coronavirus, s/he may not exhibit any symptoms for 7 to 14 days.
CoronaVirus Fact09-Will the quarantine in China stop the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus? Probably not. Even though the quarantine has been extended to 50 million people in China with sweeping travel restrictions both going into China or leaving, the official total of those infected may seriously understated. The long incubation, 10 to 24 days, means thousands may have left Wuhan long before the quarantine took effect.
A new disease can pop up any year -- remember the Swine Flu (N1H1) several years ago that swept across the country. Fortunately it had mostly mild, if uncomfortable, symptoms. Unfortunately, unlike annual flu, the swine virus seemed to affect younger healthy people with serious consequences including death. Seasonal flu, the Wuhan coronavirus, even the common cold (which is a coronavirus) can cause serious complications for the old and the very young. If you're worried about contracting these diseases there are precautions you can take such as washing your hands or using a hand sanitizing gel. We have so many sources of information available to us these days that it is difficult to sort out what information is credible and which we should disregard. These three web sites are great tools:
Web Md www. webmd. com Centers for Disease Control www. cdc. gov World Health Organization www. who. int/en/
These websites are constantly updated with new information that you can rely on. Your state and local health departments also have important information on their websites about areas where the flu outbreak is particularly concentrated, and about schools or other public facilities that may be temporarily closed. For example, a school closure occurred at a prep school in New York after eight students were found to have swine flu. Public health authorities may also provide advice on when to avoid crowds, where disease can be spread easily, when to consider postponing travel, or other social distancing strategies.
Keep informed by reading the newspaper and watching TV but keep in mind that these days the news media have a tendency to exaggerate bad news and ignore good news. For example if say 2,500 cases of a disease is confirmed the media may well have headlines that scream thousands of cases have been confirmed.
Planning ahead can help you cope with this situation as well. Make sure you have stocked up on food, medicine, alcohol based hand rubs, and other supplies you may need should you or your family come down with the flu. Have tea bags, crackers, chicken soup mix, ginger ale, jello, and juices ready to go. Make sure you have tissues, decongestant spray, and throat lozenges on hand. If you are infected, you need to stay home and take care of yourself, not have to run out to the store where you could infect other people as well as tiring yourself out.
Being prepared may mean you don't contract the coronavirus at all.
One of the reasons the human body is so amazing is that it is always dealing with threats such as infection from bacteria or viruses—but most of the time we don’t get sick because our immune system is working 24/7 to combat these threats. Having a healthy immune system is one of the reasons many of us don’t succumb to illness even during the normal cold and flu seasons of the year. Conversely, bad lifestyle habits can seriously weaken our immune systems and make us more susceptible to infection.
It is generally accepted that a number of factors completely under our control can help boost our immune systems. Eating a balanced diet is one element of keeping your immune system strong. This includes making sure you get the right balance and dosage of vitamins, either from our diet or from vitamin supplements.
We are often told that when we’re sick we should drink plenty of fluids, but drinking sufficient fluids is actually something we should do every day to help us prevent getting sick in the first place. Liquids help the body flush toxins from the system. Many times, germs such as the flu are swept from our respiratory system before they have a chance to multiply and cause us to become ill. All liquids count but water is the cheapest and most convenient.
Getting plenty of sleep is important. Fatigue makes it more difficult for your body to repair itself. Regular exercise is important not just for disease prevention in the short run but to make sure we maintain good health throughout our lives. Chronic high levels of stress is thought to contribute to weakening the immune system, so employing stress management techniques not only can help us feel better mentally, but may also help our immune system work at top efficiency.
The Wuhan coronavirus is caused by a virus, so don't think that taking a course of antibiotics will lessen the symptoms or prevent infection. It won't. Antibiotics have no effect on any virus for that matter. Antibiotics are effective in killing bacteria. What may be a little confusing is that your body produces antibodies against the virus when infected. But antibodies are not at all the same thing as antibiotics. A strong healthy body produces lots of antibodies when invaded by the coronavirus.
A healthy lifestyle can boost the odds of staying healthy and avoiding diseases.
The Wuhan coronavirus is primarily in China. However with worldwide travel we can expect to see more and more cases reported in other countries. While it's scary to think of the Wuhan coronavirus traveling literally thousands of miles through infected patients, it is happening. While the only way to completely prevent contracting the Wuhan coronavirus, or the flu, is to isolate yourself from friends, family and the public, you can cut down on the chances of you becoming sick. There are several common sense measures you can take to reduce the chances of coming down with Flu.
1. Wash your hands. A lot. It's one of the best and most effective ways to prevent disease. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using warm to hot water and soap. It doesn't have to be an antibacterial soap because the Wuhan coronavirus is caused by a virus not a bacteria. The virus won't be killed. The heat from the water and rubbing your hands together gets rid of the virus. If you're out and about and don't have access to soap and water use a hand sanitizer gel that is alcohol based. Use a generous dollop and rub on your hands until it evaporates. Wash your hands after you've been out in public.
2. Stay away from crowds. The coronavirus is airborne within a 6 foot distance. The virus is carried on water droplets that are expelled from the nasal passages, throat and lungs through sneezing, coughing and breathing. If you aren't where the crowds are you won't be exposed as much. If the flu season is especially bad and you're in the more at risk groups because of your age or damaged immune system, consider wearing an air filter mask when you're in crowds. Make sure you wash your hands after you remove the mask.
3. Don't touch your mouth or nose with your hands, use a tissue. The flu is spread through the virus being introduced to the host - that's you. If the virus is on your hand because you touched a surface that someone else did who had the virus and then you touch your nose or mouth you increase the chances of getting sick yourself. Use the tissue only once and throw it away after usage. Don't touch door handles in public areas if you can help it, or stair rails, even grocery shopping carts can carry the virus for awhile. Many grocery stores now provide disinfectant wipes to clean the handles of the cart.
Use these common sense rules to decrease the chance you'll get sick from flu.
The new Wuhan coronavirus has infected thousands with a death rate of between 2% to 3%. Viruses are not alive the way a plant or an animal is alive. They do not consume, excrete waste product, grow, or react to their environment. They do however reproduce themselves, but only in a host cell. The virus is dormant outside the host cell and can live on inanimate articles up to 24 hours.
A specific type of virus will only reproduce in a specific type of host cell. In other words a rose plant can't get tobacco mosaic virus. There are viruses that affect just about every type of organism.
Viruses are the cause of the flu, ebola, HIV, rabies, herpes, the common cold, measles, chicken pox, polio, and of course the Wuhan coronavirus. Viruses are dangerous because they mutate. The mutation means that previous vaccines are useless against the new strain. It also means the new strain can be far more devastating in the damage it cause. The flu of 1917 started out as a flu with mild symptoms, mutated, and killed nearly 50 million people worldwide in a relatively short period of time.
Ultraviolet light used in water purifiers and air filters does deactivate or kill viruses. Ultraviolet light represents the frequency of light between 200 nanometers (nm) and 400 nm. You can't see it with the naked eye. The most effective frequency for killing viruses and bacteria is between 254 nm and 265 nm.
The viruses are deactivated because the light causes genetic damage. The virus can no longer reproduce itself. Ultraviolet lights used in home filters need to be wiped off every six months. Some systems are closed and signal that the bulb needs to be changed. They use about the same amount of energy as a 40 watt incandescent bulb.
Should you use an air filter that uses ultraviolet light? That depends on how often you're exposed to people who may be sick, how much the air in your home is circulated, and other factors. Many modern homes are virtually sealed air systems in the winter when the heat is on or during the summer with air conditioning. This closed system doesn't allow the viruses to dissipate but keeps them trapped within your home.
It's cold and windy, you have the sniffles and think you might be coming down with a cold or even worse, the flu. If you're worried about contracting the flu or the coronavirus should you take extra Vitamin C?
There have been no studies that show the Vitamin C prevents the Flu or any other flu virus, shortens its duration or makes the illness milder. However, what Vitamin C does do is strengthen the immune system. Since the immune system is how the body fights off any virus, maintaining a strong immune system makes sense. Vitamin C boosts the production of white blood cells, antibodies and interferon, all of which are critical to fighting the Flu and lots of other illnesses.
Keep in mind that most drug studies are conducted by pharmaceutical companies with the idea that if the drug is successful the drug company can patent the drug and make a nice profit. Vitamin C can't be patented, so there isn't much of an incentive for the studies about its effectiveness to be completed.
Vitamin C is found naturally in many foods such as oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, and leafy greens. One of the best sources of Vitamin C is kiwi fruit. One small kiwi fruit has twice the Vitamin C as a medium orange. Many foods are fortified with Vitamin C, and of course it's available as a supplement.
Since the vitamin is water soluble it is not stored in the body. Any excess over what the body requires for that day is excreted. However any substance can be toxic if too much is taken at any one time, even water. For example: drinking extreme amounts of water can throw off the electrolyte balance of the body.
How much vitamin C is recommended? 60 mg is the recommended amount to take daily. However the body's requirement varies depending on your age, activity level, and exposure. For example, people under stress, and smokers, require more. Many people believe that 500 mg is the optimum dosage. An orange has 70 mg of vitamin C. It would be a challenge to consume 500 mg just through foods. A 500 mg dosage means eating six oranges.
While vitamin C hasn't been shown to prevent the flu, it's still a good idea to make sure you and your family get enough through diet and supplements during the flu season. It makes sense to increase your level of vitamin C a few weeks before flu season and continue for a few weeks after flu season. That's approximately the winter months with a couple of weeks on either side.
If a family member comes down with the coronavirus, including the Wuhan coronavirus or the flu, take steps to make sure it doesn't spread throughout the household. Just because one member is sick doesn't mean the whole family has to get sick. Frequently disinfect the bathroom surfaces, doorknobs or other areas the family member suffering from the illness may have touched. Keep their toothbrush separate from other family members'. Make sure family members don't accidentally share drinking glasses.
Keep the patient at home. Going to work or school just spreads the coronavirus to more victims. The odds are the patient isn't going to be very productive whether they show up at work or not. Call the school to see if any work can be brought home for when the patient feels a little better.
Working at home is an option for those who can telecommute. Just remember that lots of rest is important to getting better.
Any area the infected person may have touched or coughed or sneezed on must be disinfected as long as the person is contagious, which can be as long as two weeks. Even something as routine as family members drying their hands with the same towel can be a means of spreading the virus. Use paper towels in the bathroom and kitchen. Keeping your home as germ and virus free as possible year round is one of the best ways to make sure the possibility of family members becoming infected is minimized.
Keep a container of disinfectant wipes prominently displayed on the bathroom and kitchen counters. Instruct everyone to wipe down the door handles, faucet handles and counter tops whenever they use the bathroom. Sprays are messier and have to be wiped off anyway so the disinfectant wipes are better.
Buy bottles of hand sanitizer and place one in every room. There no excuse for not using it when it's right there. Do the same thing with a box of tissues. Sneezing is a main culprit in the spread of the corona and flu virus.
Keep a thermos filled with hot tea or other warm liquids, along with a carafe of water and perhaps a couple of bottles of juice by the patient. Staying hydrated is important. If the liquid is right by the bedside your patient may be more likely to keep drinking.
Keep an eye on the patient for worsening symptoms. While most of us get over the coronavirus or the flu without any complications, others don't. Symptoms should start getting less intense after the first few days. If they worsen, it could be a sign of secondary infections. The very young and seniors are more prone to complications.
Coronavirus (the common cold is a coronavirus)) and flu season is here with the coughing, headache, congestion, sore throat and runny nose. It's a miserable time to get sick especially with the cold, wet windy weather outside. Let's face: winter and early spring are the cold and flu season. Having the flu is one instance where you must stay home from work, school or other social situations where you could spread the virus. Your recovery from the illness will be accelerated if you allow yourself plenty of rest, rather than trying to keep with your normal work schedule. If you must work while you are recovering, do it via computer or telephone from home and limit it to a few hours each day.
Do not travel on public transportation when you are sick. The confined space of an airplane, or bus, for example, makes it quite possible that whenever you sneeze or cough, other passengers become infected. The coronavirus and flu virus is airborne for up to 6 feet which means in a crowded bus you could infect four or five other people with every sneeze.
Stay prepared during the flu season. Make sure you have lots of fruit juice, light meals, and tissues on hand. Being sick and having to go to the store makes you feel worse and exposes others to your illness.
Pack up an emergency cold and flu kit in a container such as an empty shoe box so you know where everything is. You'll need aspirin, saline nasal spray, tissues, plastic sealable baggies to put the used tissues in, hand sanitizer, throat lozenges, bottled water, tea bags and the aforementioned juices. Sports drinks work but keep in mind that they can contain sugar, salt and caffeine. If you like also include a decongestant, and cough medicine.
You might also want to have instant soups on hand. The warmth and salt in the soups will sooth your throat and help clear congestion.
A humidifier is helpful as well. During winter when home heating systems are going full blast the air is dry and can irritate nasal passages. A humidifier in the room adds much needed moisture so you can breathe easier. For more info you can Buy this Coronavirus Outbreak ebook - Click Here
No one likes to be sick but it happens. While you'd have to lock yourself in an air bubble away from other people to guarantee that you won't get sick from the coronavirus, there are ways to decrease your chances of becoming infected. Frequent hand washing is one of the easiest measures you can take to reduce your chance of coming down with the virus.
During the day we all touch dozens of surfaces that may have the coronavirus or flu virus on them: doorknobs, grocery cart handles, computer mouse and keyboards, cell phones and telephones—the list is endless. The virus remains active on hard surfaces for up to 24 hours. And don't think that if no one in your family is exhibiting flu symptoms, you're in the clear. You can be contagious for a couple of days before you become sick. You can be contagious with the Wuhan coronavirus from 7 to 10 days before you have symptoms.
Wash your hands with hot soapy water, dry with a paper towel and throw the towel away. When in public restrooms, be careful of the surfaces you touch. If the restroom has a hot air hand dryer use that instead of paper towels. Antibacterial soap isn't necessary as the flu is caused by a virus not bacteria. It won't be killed by the soap. It will be destroyed by the hot water and the friction from rubbing your hands together with the soap.
If soap and water isn't available use an alcohol based hand sanitizer. Again rubbing causes friction and that friction kills the virus. Don't dry the hand sanitizer off with a paper towel. Let your hands dry naturally. That gives the alcohol more time to work.
It is important to instruct children in these preventive measures as well. Children come in contact with more potential sources of germs, including viruses, than adults do. Not only do they have a classroom of up to 40 other children but they make contact with other children at lunch time and on the playground, and on the school bus.
Children's immune systems aren't as developed as adults so they get sick more often. Teaching your child to wash their hands often is one of the best ways to prevent them from becoming ill. Give each child their own bottle of hand sanitizer to carry with them, if it's allowed by the school rules.
For the sake of our own health and others, we all have a responsibility to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the flu, or any other type of disease for that matter. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to figure out what to do. Most of the steps are common sense. From 5 to 20% of the population in the US comes down with the flu every year. While most of us get through the flu just fine, it can be a serious disease for the young and old.
The Wuhan coronavirus so far has had its greatest impact in China where the disease originated. Thousands of cases have been diagnosed with about a 3% fatality rate. There are probably more cases of the Wuhan coronavirus than reported, since the confirmation has been from patients who have been hospitalized. As with the flu, it's probable that most infected victims don't have symptoms serious enough for hospitalization.
Cover your nose or mouth when you sneeze or cough, so you trap the virus particles in the tissue rather than expelling them into the air. Then make sure you dispose of the tissue so it won't spread the virus on any other surface. The virus is spread within a a 3 to 6 foot range when you sneeze so trapping the virus in a tissue eliminates that possibility.
After you sneeze or cough, wash your hands with soap and water. Or if you are not near a sink, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner. Get in the habit of carrying these hand sanitizers with you, in the car, in your pocket or in your purse. Wash or disinfect your hands when out in the public and touching door knobs, shopping cart handles or other items that other people touch.
Avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes. If you have touched any object contaminated with the virus, you may end up contaminating yourself. Your eyes, nose and mouth are the easiest pathways to infection by the flu virus.
If you're sick stay home from work and away from other people. You may think that you're being Mr. Tough Guy by going into work, but you won't be working at full capacity when you're sick and you'll be spreading the virus. If your child becomes sick keep them home from school until their symptoms have subsided. You can spread the Wuhan coronavirus from 7 to 10 days before you exhibit any symptoms. For more info you can Buy this Coronavirus Outbreak ebook - Click Here
The Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms include fever, cough, headaches, chills, body aches, a sore throat and fatigue. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported. There are no antiviral medications that are effective. Not every patient who has the Wuhan coronavirus exhibits every symptom.
It is important to remember that the common cold, a coronavirus, has many of the same symptoms. As does influenza. However, the onset of the flu is usually much more severe and quicker than with the common cold. You go to bed with mild symptoms in the evening and wake up with the full blown flu the next morning. Cold symptoms last about 7 days with a gradual onset and then a decrease of symptoms.
It is important to remember that flu is not a rare illness. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov, 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from a case of the flu each year.
The coronavirus (and the common cold is a coronavirus) is typically spread from one person to another when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus can pass through an infected person's lungs, throat or nose, sending particles into the air that can pass to anyone that person comes in close contact with. The range to pass the infection is from 3 to 6 feet.
Being out in a crowd increases your chances of being infected, because the more people you're exposed to the higher the probability that several of them have the beginning stages of the flu. Additionally the closer people are next to each other the less distance the virus has to travel when airborne.
Being in an airplane in the closed environment with someone who has the flu makes it more likely the flu spreads to the other passengers. Transportation by bus or subway increases the close approximation between passengers.
The other main way the virus spreads is from touching surfaces that are contaminated with the virus and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose.
You may pick up the flu virus if you touch the contaminated surface and then touch your face. For more info you can Buy this Coronavirus Outbreak ebook