5 Things That Make The Novel Coronavirus So Scary and Dangerous
Nigeria and her citizens have been thrown into a state of confusion with the continuous report of new cases of COVID-19, Coronavirus Disease.
As of the time of this publication, there are 51 reported cases of the virus in the country. Some people believe the real situation could be worse than this. Nobody knows, and this is why you have to follow the established guidelines to protect yourself and prevent the spread of the disease.
But what we know now, especially those who have been living in denial, is that the novel Coronavirus Disease is REAL. it is spreading like wildfire. And unfortunately, yes, it does affect, infect and kill Black Africans here in Africa. There are a number of death cases, already.
So far so good, only one death case in Nigeria and we don't pray for more.
By now, you know what Coronavirus disease COVID-19 is. But perhaps you are wondering what makes this virus so, so scary and dangerous that it could hold the world by the scruff of the neck and let everything choke and gasp… then be our guest.
In this article, we expose everything in simple, clear, interesting and engaging language.
Now, let's talk about why the Coronavirus is so scary and dangerous.
Obviously, the Coronavirus is a virus. But what is a virus?
Viruses are infectious particles that have no life but suddenly wake up to life when they happen to find their way into living cells where they can survive in.
Let’s say they are like detergent powder, Omo, for instance.
Without water, Omo is useless and does not foam. But once it gets dissolved in water, boom, it becomes activated and starts foaming, producing millions of air bubbles…
.
When viruses find their way into the body, they quickly attach to specific body cells, transfer their genetic materials into the cell and then simply hijack the host cells and cause the cells to start producing more viruses instead of working normally.
Once more viruses are made by the infected body cells, they simply burst the host body cell and then start to attack other healthy cells to infect them, hijack them and make more viruses.
What this means is that a single virus can attack a cell and cause the cell to produce thousands of more viruses which each then attack thousands of more body cells to produce tens of thousands and millions of viruses that end up causing tissue and organ damages.
This is what happens when the novel Coronavirus attacks the lung cells of infected persons.
It is how viruses operate, and this is one reason why they are dangerous and deadly.
But what even makes the Coronavirus scarier is that it is a new virus…
And what this means is that there are a lot more things that were never known about it.
Researchers and scientists are trying to learn more about the virus and how to control or stop it. But it’s not just waiting to be stopped, it is busy having a field day and spreading at a monstrously alarming rate, all over the world.
We hope it doesn't take much longer before the Coronavirus gets contained or eradicated.
The SARS-COV-2 which is the virus that causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 is highly virulent and infectious.
It is an RNA virus, this means that its genetic material is made up of compounds called ribonucleic acids (RNA) instead of DNA, deoxyribonucleic acids.
Viruses that contain RNA are usually more infectious than those that contain DNA, this is because it takes less time for them to start replicating once they are in the host cell, and they can easily change some components of their genetic material, making it hard to control them, this is called mutation.
This is why it takes just an average of 5 days after exposure for people to become ill from the virus.
When you add the fact that the Coronavirus affects only cells in the respiratory system where they are easily dispersed through air droplets from the mouth and nose to infect more people, you begin to understand how scary the virus is.
What these facts above mean is that the novel Coronavirus attacks fast and gets spread quickly. And that’s scary.
The SARS-COV-2 is a new virus as you know, and the implication of this is that it is also unknown and new to our immune system.
The human immune system is the body’s defense system that protects us from getting ill every time we are exposed to disease causing microorganisms -- we are exposed every day.
Part of the way the immune system works is by keeping a record of every disease agent it has encountered before, and then producing some particles called antibodies that it uses to identify these disease agents when new ones come into the system again.
It can use these antibodies to attack and inactivate these disease-causing microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi) or use the antibodies to mark these organisms for attack by other soldiers that make up the immune defense system.
This is how the immune system mobilizes, attacks and clears your body of infections and prevents you from getting sick every time.
In the case of the novel Coronavirus, it is new and your immune system doesn’t have a record of it, and doesn’t have antibodies for it.
Now, because your immune system doesn't know what SARS-COV-2 is and has never encountered it, it doesn't know how to react or approach the new virus and because of this, it becomes quite easy for the novel Coronavirus to get into the body unopposed and have a head-start advantage over your immune system...
Usually the immune system would rally, bounce back and start to attack and clear out the virus after a few days… but this would only happen for normal, young, and healthy persons with no underlying diseases or medical conditions.
For the elderly, those whose immune systems are not quite strong anymore, and for people with underlying medical situations like diabetes, cancer, heart and lung diseases, the viral attack can be severe and the complications may lead to death.
The contagious nature of the novel Coronavirus makes it so scary.
This is because, if it is not properly contained, it could infect and make a lot of people sick at the same time. Which means that a lot of people would be needing medical attention at the same time.
When a lot of people require medical attention at the same time, and there are few medical resources or healthcare facilities to attend to the situation, a medical emergency would happen. A lot of vulnerable people would not be able to get medical care, and they could die.
This is exactly what is happening in Italy with her heightened case of the Coronavirus disease...
Imagine what it would look like if the case gets overblown here in Nigeria with our very much underdeveloped healthcare system.
A number of drugs are on trial, including Chloroquine, its derivative Hydroxychloroquine, and some drugs used in treating HIV, but at this moment, the Coronavirus disease 2019, has no cure.
Cases can only be managed as the immune system of infected persons hopefully bounces back to fight off the infection.
As more data and information are discovered by researchers and scientists studying the virus, and solutions on how to stop the virus emerges, it is important that you follow the current prevention guidelines and practices to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus, and protect yourself, your family, and your community.
Read up the public health approved guidelines for preventing the spread of the disease here.
As of the time of this publication, there are 51 reported cases of the virus in the country. Some people believe the real situation could be worse than this. Nobody knows, and this is why you have to follow the established guidelines to protect yourself and prevent the spread of the disease.
But what we know now, especially those who have been living in denial, is that the novel Coronavirus Disease is REAL. it is spreading like wildfire. And unfortunately, yes, it does affect, infect and kill Black Africans here in Africa. There are a number of death cases, already.
So far so good, only one death case in Nigeria and we don't pray for more.
By now, you know what Coronavirus disease COVID-19 is. But perhaps you are wondering what makes this virus so, so scary and dangerous that it could hold the world by the scruff of the neck and let everything choke and gasp… then be our guest.
In this article, we expose everything in simple, clear, interesting and engaging language.
Now, let's talk about why the Coronavirus is so scary and dangerous.
1. It's a virus and it's a new one
Obviously, the Coronavirus is a virus. But what is a virus?
Viruses are infectious particles that have no life but suddenly wake up to life when they happen to find their way into living cells where they can survive in.
Let’s say they are like detergent powder, Omo, for instance.
Without water, Omo is useless and does not foam. But once it gets dissolved in water, boom, it becomes activated and starts foaming, producing millions of air bubbles…
.
When viruses find their way into the body, they quickly attach to specific body cells, transfer their genetic materials into the cell and then simply hijack the host cells and cause the cells to start producing more viruses instead of working normally.
Once more viruses are made by the infected body cells, they simply burst the host body cell and then start to attack other healthy cells to infect them, hijack them and make more viruses.
What this means is that a single virus can attack a cell and cause the cell to produce thousands of more viruses which each then attack thousands of more body cells to produce tens of thousands and millions of viruses that end up causing tissue and organ damages.
This is what happens when the novel Coronavirus attacks the lung cells of infected persons.
It is how viruses operate, and this is one reason why they are dangerous and deadly.
But what even makes the Coronavirus scarier is that it is a new virus…
And what this means is that there are a lot more things that were never known about it.
Researchers and scientists are trying to learn more about the virus and how to control or stop it. But it’s not just waiting to be stopped, it is busy having a field day and spreading at a monstrously alarming rate, all over the world.
We hope it doesn't take much longer before the Coronavirus gets contained or eradicated.
2. It is highly virulent and contagious
The SARS-COV-2 which is the virus that causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 is highly virulent and infectious.
It is an RNA virus, this means that its genetic material is made up of compounds called ribonucleic acids (RNA) instead of DNA, deoxyribonucleic acids.
Viruses that contain RNA are usually more infectious than those that contain DNA, this is because it takes less time for them to start replicating once they are in the host cell, and they can easily change some components of their genetic material, making it hard to control them, this is called mutation.
This is why it takes just an average of 5 days after exposure for people to become ill from the virus.
When you add the fact that the Coronavirus affects only cells in the respiratory system where they are easily dispersed through air droplets from the mouth and nose to infect more people, you begin to understand how scary the virus is.
What these facts above mean is that the novel Coronavirus attacks fast and gets spread quickly. And that’s scary.
3. It's not previously known to your immune system
The SARS-COV-2 is a new virus as you know, and the implication of this is that it is also unknown and new to our immune system.
The human immune system is the body’s defense system that protects us from getting ill every time we are exposed to disease causing microorganisms -- we are exposed every day.
Part of the way the immune system works is by keeping a record of every disease agent it has encountered before, and then producing some particles called antibodies that it uses to identify these disease agents when new ones come into the system again.
It can use these antibodies to attack and inactivate these disease-causing microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi) or use the antibodies to mark these organisms for attack by other soldiers that make up the immune defense system.
This is how the immune system mobilizes, attacks and clears your body of infections and prevents you from getting sick every time.
In the case of the novel Coronavirus, it is new and your immune system doesn’t have a record of it, and doesn’t have antibodies for it.
Now, because your immune system doesn't know what SARS-COV-2 is and has never encountered it, it doesn't know how to react or approach the new virus and because of this, it becomes quite easy for the novel Coronavirus to get into the body unopposed and have a head-start advantage over your immune system...
Usually the immune system would rally, bounce back and start to attack and clear out the virus after a few days… but this would only happen for normal, young, and healthy persons with no underlying diseases or medical conditions.
For the elderly, those whose immune systems are not quite strong anymore, and for people with underlying medical situations like diabetes, cancer, heart and lung diseases, the viral attack can be severe and the complications may lead to death.
4. It can overwhelm the health system
The contagious nature of the novel Coronavirus makes it so scary.
This is because, if it is not properly contained, it could infect and make a lot of people sick at the same time. Which means that a lot of people would be needing medical attention at the same time.
When a lot of people require medical attention at the same time, and there are few medical resources or healthcare facilities to attend to the situation, a medical emergency would happen. A lot of vulnerable people would not be able to get medical care, and they could die.
This is exactly what is happening in Italy with her heightened case of the Coronavirus disease...
Imagine what it would look like if the case gets overblown here in Nigeria with our very much underdeveloped healthcare system.
5. There's no vaccine yet
A number of drugs are on trial, including Chloroquine, its derivative Hydroxychloroquine, and some drugs used in treating HIV, but at this moment, the Coronavirus disease 2019, has no cure.
Cases can only be managed as the immune system of infected persons hopefully bounces back to fight off the infection.
Wrapping up
As more data and information are discovered by researchers and scientists studying the virus, and solutions on how to stop the virus emerges, it is important that you follow the current prevention guidelines and practices to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus, and protect yourself, your family, and your community.
Read up the public health approved guidelines for preventing the spread of the disease here.
Like this? Share it with your friends. Use the button below.
