Coronavirus (COVID-19)

What is Coronavirus? What Does Coronavirus Mean?

The new coronavirus, also known unofficially as Wuhan coronavirus because it was first seen in the Wuhan region of China at the beginning of December 2019 and identified by the authorities in this region, is an infectious virus that causes respiratory tract infection and can pass from person to person.

The official name of the virus has been determined as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Health Organization uses the term COVID-19 to describe the disease caused by the virus.

On January 30, 2020, CoViD-19 was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. On March 11, 2020, the virus was declared a pandemic, that is, a global epidemic.

What is the New Coronavirus? (Covid-19)

The new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a new viral respiratory disease that was first identified with high fever and shortness of breath in the Wuhan province of China on January 13, 2020. It is known that the disease is transmitted through droplets and contact. It is defined as a pandemic due to the global epidemic situation it creates.

The new coronavirus is a strain of the coronavirus family that can affect both animals and humans. Historically, some different viruses from the coronavirus family appear to cause severe respiratory diseases such as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word corona, which means crown, because they look like a round crown with protrusions when viewed through an electron microscope.

Coronaviruses have been seen in our society for years. The simplest and most common of these is the common cold. Coronavirus is a group of 20 different types of viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infection along with runny nose.

Many other coronaviruses from the coronavirus family cause milder diseases with milder symptoms than the new coronavirus. Therefore, coronaviruses have not caused any panic when it comes to diseases such as colds.

From time to time, coronaviruses can pass between humans and animals. The genetic information of viruses changes due to mutation of their RNA. By clinging to the cell, especially the surface proteins, and creating changes in the proteins it uses to enter, it escapes from the previously formed immune system, and can also multiply faster and cause more damage to the cells.

The virus, previously called SARS, caused a disease very similar to today’s new coronavirus. The name SARS is a name formed by using the initials of the English equivalent of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The analogy of the second SARS virus is used for the coronavirus that is on the agenda today.

Apart from this, another virus from the coronavirus family came to the world’s agenda with its potential to cause serious diseases and the epidemics it caused. The disease called MERS, called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, caused by a type of coronavirus that transmitted from camels to humans, created an epidemic in the Middle East region for a while.

However, since the disease effects of MERS are not seen all over the world, it has not been called a pandemic. MERS still occurs occasionally in the Middle East region.

The globally accepted name of the coronavirus disease, the effects of which we are currently seeing, is CoViD-19, as it was first identified in 2019.