A brief intro to the virus:
Belonging to a large family of viruses, Coronaviruses majorly causes respiratory infections, symptoms can range from mild to modest, most people in their lifetime do get infected with the virus. The virus is acknowledged to be the reason behind bronchitis and pneumonia in severe cases. Coronaviruses are shared worldwide among animals, yet only a few of them are identified to affect humans. The probability of a human getting infected from animals is rare, but the virus can advance to such a level. This is what happened when the Coronaviruses like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS Coronavirus) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS Coronavirus) affected humans with these. The latest form of this virus has originated in the Wuhan province of China and is named as COVID-19. So, can the COVID-19 antibody protect us from this lethal virus. This is what we will discover further.
Lessons from the past:
Coronaviruses were first discovered in the 1960s; the most primitive one’s infected chickens, later few other types of viruses of this family have been identified, including HCoV NL63, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, HKU1, and now the 2019-nCoV and all of these have caused severe respiratory tract infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) On 31st December 2019, officially designated a novel strain of Coronavirus as 2019-nCoV or COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019). The virus was initially reported in Wuhan, China. Initially, cases of the pneumonia-like virus were reported in Wuhan. Since then, the virus was transmitted like wildfire, not only affecting other parts of China but transmitting it across the globe. Several countries, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand, Australia, the United States, France, Pakistan, and Malaysia are among those infected.
A prior study proposed that snakes might be the source of the new Coronavirus. The outbreak would have occurred in China when people traveled to local animal “wet” and seafood market in Wuhan, wherein very unhygienic conditions different animals are kept and slaughtered openly in horrifying conditions. recently bats and, pangolins have also been alleged to be the source of this lethal virus, thus it is assumed that the conveyance order is from animal to human.
Researches so far:
The researchers have equated the genetic sequence of the virus with more than 200 other types of Coronaviruses to confirm its origin from snakes that are infected by bats and named this virus as 2019-nCoV. So, the question strikes to mind is that is this COVID-19 virus, similar to SARS and MERS? The fact is, both SARS and MERS cause very severe symptoms, while for this new virus the severity of symptoms is known partly. Some cases have also been reported where people have shown mild symptoms or were asymptomatic while then it leads to death, confirming its severity.
However, one common element that is common among these three viruses is that they all can easily been transmitted through close contact. SARS which was initially reported in 2002 in southern China is believed to have transmitted to civets from bats that are infected. While MERS had been conveyed by touching the infected camels or by consuming their milk or meat. Firstly, it was reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has typically been restricted to the Arabian Peninsula. To know more about research refer to https://www.genemedi.net/.
Lessons learned from research:
The best possible precaution is to avoid exposure to the virus in case of this deadly Coronavirus. To date, no effective medicine or vaccine exists for COVID-19 infection. But the patients that get recovered from this virus has antibodies developed inside their body. Antibodies act as the natural resistance in fighting from the virus. As described in the Merriam Webster “antibody also called immunoglobulin are any of a large number of proteins of high molecular weight that are produced normally by specialized B cells after stimulation by an antigen and act specifically against the antigen in an immune response, that are produced abnormally by some cancer cells, and that typically consist of four subunits including two heavy chains and two light chains”. In its simplest form, an antibody is a Y-shaped protein produced by plasma cells and is used by the immune system to counteract pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Immunologists and researchers are currently working on extracting these antibodies from the blood plasma of a recovered patient and then transferring it to other infected patients. This process of transferring antibodies has provided positive results so far. At GeneMedi we produce a variety of coronavirus antibodies that are largely obtained from B-cell sequencing of human patients.
Precautions to remain safe:
Some of the guidelines that will help you in the prevention of COVOD-19. In case you have traveled abroad in last 14 days and feel sick with cough, fever, or breathing heavily, medical care is advised at the earliest.
• Keep your hands clean is the first step in efficient and effective prevention. Wash your hands for 20-30 seconds with soap and water.
• If water or soap is not available, then use an alcohol-based sanitizer to keep your hands clean, especially if any person suffering from any illness is around you.
• Avoid unnecessary physical and social contact with people. Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet.
• It is better to not touch your eyes, nose, mouth, or face without washing or sanitizing hands.
• If you are suffering from symptoms like fever or flu, eye redness (conjunctivitis), cough, or facing difficulty in breathing then immediately seek medical care.
