Around us a lot of information about a new type of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes atypical pneumonia COVID-19. Among her many and unreliable, unverified and outright false information. In this regard, in Russia toughen penalties for distributing fake about the coronavirus. If false information will lead to the death of a person, infliction of harm to health or property, mass violation of public order or the termination of functioning of critical infrastructure, the penalty will amount to 5 million roubles (in case of repeated violation – up to 10 million rubles). In addition, for the distribution of the citizens false information that led to serious consequences, you can get up to five years in prison.
to understand what is fake and what is fact, the BBC Russian service brought together 80 facts about the coronavirus, which can help to understand the issue.
Fact 1. Covid-19 and SARS-CoV-2 – one and the same. Covid-19 is a disease (D – an acronym for ‘disease’) caused by a novel coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 – the name of the virus itself.
2. the Fact that CoV – reduced from CoronaVirus, coronavirus. The so-called family of viruses (there are about 40), which resemble the solar corona due to the spinous processes.
Fact 3: Coronavirus – impostors from biology. The tip of each tongue “mimics” a molecule nutrients so that cellular receptors are happily dragging themselves it themselves – and for the creeper in the cage pushes the entire virus. So there is an infection.
Fact 4. the Term “new coronavirus” (nCoV or novel) mean that he was not only a scientist but also our cells.
Fact # 5. 2 million years of evolution our immune systems learned to deal with most of the known infections, but the new coronavirus catches her off guard – so it is so hard to handle and easy to catch.
Fact 6. Once a cell, the virus “hijacks” over her control and makes endlessly to produce their own copies instead of the usual proteins. The chain reaction starts. Eventually the cell dies, but the infection carrier becomes infectious.
7. the Fact that At the initial stage of infection with the new coronavirus actively multiplies in the throat and upper Airways. Then the infection goes below and can get to the lungs, causing inflammation.
Fact 8. that is why the first symptom of infection is increased. Then starts the temperature rise.
Fact 9. Or starts – 30% of patients in Wuhan, the temperature at the time of arrival to the hospital was not higher than normal.
Fact 10. many infected (18% or almost one in five) not even a cough. The disease is generally without symptoms – the person may not even suspect that the sick.
Fact 11. this asymptomatic patient is still active infection carrier and can infect others.
Fact 12. If Covid-19 occurs in mild form, its symptoms are very similar to normal seasonal flu: dry cough, fever, General weakness, and sometimes muscle aches or a headache.
Fact 13. he also is Treated exactly the same as regular flu – at home symptomatically.
Fact 14. One of the most unusual symptoms of coronavirus – loss of sense of taste and/or smell.
Fact 15. It does not occur in all infected people, but may be the only symptom.
Fact 16. So if you suddenly ceased to feel smells or tastes is a reason to be suspicious and to take action.
Fact 17. Important: the carrier of the novel coronavirus is becoming a threat to others immediately after infection – long before he will appear or will not appear the first symptoms.
Fact 18. Good news: the more deadly threat of VIRus, the worse it’s spreading. After killing its host, the virus can no longer infect others. Therefore, the virus rarely mutates into a more deadly form, is not in his best interest.
Fact 19. Bad news: SARS-CoV-2 – just from a different category. This virus makes the host a vector of infection, but not immediately manifested or not manifested at all, so that the carrier manages to infect a few more people.
Fact 20. on average, each bearer of a new coronavirus manages to infect 2 to 4 healthy people. This number is higher than seasonal flu (1,3), but lower than that of measles (12+).
Fact 21. Although, like any infection, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the so-called superspreader carriers that infect incomparably more people: hundreds, if not thousands.
Fact 22. In South Korea, the virus has been contained while the number of cases has not reached 30. But the woman, code-named “Patient is 31”, has infected just about 1,200 people.
Fact 23. it turned Out that she was very religious and continued to go to Church, despite the cough and high temperature, ignoring the orders of the Korean government.
Fact 24. 10 days the number of infected in South Korea increased from 30 to 5000.
Fact 25. the death rate from Covid-19 it is difficult to calculate with precision, but most studies estimate it at 1-3%.
Fact 26. It is about 20 times higher than seasonal flu, but not even close up to the predecessors of the SARS coronavirus (10%) and MERS (25%).
Fact 27. Mortality from Covid-19 is strongly dependent on the total load on the health system and the speed of aid: if in Germany it is only 0.3%, in Italy almost 9%.
Fact 28. In the age group older than 70 years, the mortality exceeds 5%, after 80 from the virus die every tenthth.
Fact 29. that is why the main task of the authorities around the world now stretch the epidemic for as long as possible, not allowing many people to get sick Covid-19 at the same time.
Fact 30. Pandemic develops with acceleration: from the formulation of the first diagnosis to 100 thousand cases it has been 67 days, the second 100 thousand sick for 11 days, the third – in four days.
Fact 31. Every day the number of infected increases by about one third.
Fact 32. the Pandemic has already reached the most remote corners of the globe, including the famous Easter island, where on Tuesday, March 24, was officially confirmed that the first patient is a 42-year-old man.
Fact 33. Experts warn that you need to advance to psychologically prepare yourself for the fact that the number of infected could be in the tens of millions, and the dead – maybe hundreds of thousands.
Fact 34. Where did SARS-CoV-2, is unknown, but similar viruses carry bats and pangolins.
Fact 35. most Likely, the virus mutated and was passed on to some other animal, and from him man.
Fact 36. was the virus dangerous to humans in the moment when he first got sick? Or it mutated and learned to penetrate our cells, already being in person? The answers to these questions scientists have not yet found.
Fact 37. If a virus was dangerous when in contact with the man, so he could still be walking somewhere in the animal world, and sooner or later again to infect humans.
Fact 38. that is why in the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan first closed markets that sold the game.
Fact 39. This, incidentally, is a standard measure in China – the markets close down there first thing if you suspect a new infection and quarantine. Usually helps, but this time it was too late: asymptomatic the virus has already went “in people”.
Fact 40. No, the virus had escaped from the biology lab, as if someone wanted to believe it.
Fact 41. Version of the artificial origin of the coronavirus have been thoroughly inspected by several teams of scientists from different countries and rejected as untenable.
Fact 42. “Our analysis clearly shows that SARS-CoV-2 was constructed in the laboratory and is not a virus, which made any purposeful manipulation” – a quote researchers from the journal Nature.
Fact 43. since we went to debunk the myths, here’s another: surgical masks do NOT protect against coronavirus. The particles are so small that they easily pass through the pores.
Fact 44. So you can imagine the size of the virus: on the tip of the needle can easily accommodate about 100 million copies of it.
Fact 45. cough from an infected patient spread tiny droplets of saliva, each of which can be billions (!) of viral particles.
Fact 46. the Mask makes sense to wear those who are afraid to infect others – it is not 100 percent protection, but slightly reduce the risk to others.
Fact 47. Contrary to popular belief, Pets can’T distribute the coronavirus. No cases of human infection from a dog or cat is not registered.
Fact 48. But the virus completely you can pick up in a completely empty room where had been infected.
Fact 49. In the air coronavirus is still viable (i.e., can infect healthy people) for three hours.
Fact 50. On plastic and steel surfaces of SARS-CoV-2 remains dangerous for up to three days on paper and cardboard – to days, on copper – up to four hours.
Fact 51. that is why the main and mostreliable means of prevention – wash hands thoroughly after contact with any surfaces outside your home.
Fact 52. How to properly wash your hands, you can see in this video (no, it’s not as obvious as you think).
Fact 53. If a shell is not around, you can use the gel hand sanitizer. But to wash my hands really good.
Fact 54. Antiseptic can be done at home if you have any potable or industrial alcohol. This is done so.
Fact 55. In a pinch to disinfect suitable Miramistin or chlorhexidine, and the other destroy not only bacteria, but also viruses.
Fact 56. Antibiotics are useless against coronavirus. As against any other virus, including the flu or herpes.
Fact 57. Quarantine and other restrictive measures around the world can last (with a few interruptions) until then, until a vaccine or effective treatment from Covid-19.
Fact 58. the Current vaccine for the coronavirus is definitely NOT gonna be here sooner than a year and a half, from the mid-to late 2021 at this point, the majority of people at risk of virus is likely to have been ill.
Fact 59. Perhaps, the vaccine will not appear never. A vaccine against HIV, the whole world is trying to develop for 35 years – and to no avail. Although it has developed a “pill for HIV” for effective prevention.
Fact 60. Specific treatment of SARS-CoV-2 yet. Infected treating solely symptomatically, that is not fighting the disease, and its manifestations.
Fact 61. More than 100 thousand people, which was confirmed Covid-19, successfully recovered.
Fact 62. the Majority of cases (over 80%) medical assistance is generally not required. They are treated at home, means normallyth flu – and well, as usual, about a week.
Fact 63. Hospitalization required approximately every fifth or sixth sick – mostly the elderly and/or already have chronic diseases.
Fact 64. In severe cases (about 4%) is necessary to connect the patient to the ventilator. They may not be enough if ill be too many. Some car companies switched to manufacture of the ventilator.
Fact 65. this is one of the main causes of high mortality in Italy. A lot of elderly patients, the peak burden on hospitals and, as a consequence, the depletion of personnel and lack of equipment.
Fact 66. 10300 cured from Covid-19 Italians have more than 8,000 deaths from the virus. Another 62 thousand people still sick (as of March 27).
Fact 67. Parallel searches of medication against the virus. To develop new means time, for doctors to check the existing antiviral drugs – how effective they are in fight against SARS-CoV-2.
Fact 68. In February, Chinese doctors noticed that the coronavirus copes chloroquine – a drug designed for the prevention and treatment of malaria. Since its effectiveness in the fight against Covid-19 have been confirmed by several studies.
Fact 69. Two other possible medication – lopinavir, which is usually used to treat patients with HIV and ramdevpir, originally developed for the treatment of Ebola and Marburg virus. While both successfully tested.
Fact 70. Recent encouraging discovery – antiviral drug avigan (favipiravir), popular in Japan, the flu remedy. It has been specifically developed to combat RNA viruses.
Fact 71. In trials in Wuhan infected with coronavirus patients treated with AVEgan, recovered in an average of four days.
Fact 72. Almost all patients in China, along with the usual medicines were prescribed medicines of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Fact 73. treatment Formula TKM was developed in the Eighth people’s hospital in Guangzhou, recognized by the Ministry of science and technology of Guangdong province officially approved by the regional authorities.
Fact 74. According to Xinhua news Agency, particularly effectively treat patients Covid-19 using the medicine of Cinfa paydu (Qingfei Paidu) – along with the basic therapy.
Fact 75. This traditional medication is based on herbs and other plants, including ephedra, and Chinese licorice root – but only variations of the recipe, there are dozens, if not hundreds.
Fact 76. Sometimes seriously ill Covid-19 trying to save, them pouring the blood plasma from recovered patients antibodies against the virus. This practice has established itself during outbreaks of SARS, MERS and Ebola virus, and was officially recommended by who.
Fact 77. the Sneezing is NOT a symptom of coronavirus. Cough – Yes, sneezes – no.
Fact 78. SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate. From December to March, some variants of the virus managed to change the genome 14 times.
Fact 79. a total of genetic modifications of the virus – with little differences – there are more than 1200. To watch them at this link.
Fact 80. “the Russian variant” of a virus studied by scientists of the St. Petersburg Institute of influenza was genetically closest to the European species. This confirms the theory that the infection came to Russia not directly from China, through Europe.
