Blog 2 Extra Credit: Coronavirus Continued

As discussed in the previous blog post, the new coronavirus is a respiratory infection characterized by pneumonia-like signs and symptoms, including fever, difficulty breathing, cough, and lesions on the lungs. It was proposed that it was spread via human to human droplet transmission, but that the initial infection was spread to a human by an animal. Researchers hypothesized that the primary reservoir for the virus was most likely a bat, although humans most likely obtained the new coronavirus through a mammal, similar to other epidemic-causing coronaviruses in the past. For example, the coronavirus responsible for the 2002-2003 epidemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), was transmitted to humans through a civet cat, which is a mammal. After extensive genomic testing, researchers believe that the animal responsible for initiating the infection in humans is the pangolin, a scaled mammal indigenous to China.

Pangolins are animals with elongated snouts that eat ants. They are currently listed as an endangered species, as their population is relatively low from over-hunting. Their meat is viewed as a delicacy in China and their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine practices. As a result, it is now illegal to kill pangolins and sell their commodities in China. This is important to know, as the new coronavirus originated in a seafood and meat market in Wuhan, China. Pangolins were not listed in the inventory of items solid in the market, but this could easily be explained through the illegal nature of the activity. Researchers believe that the pangolin could have been the source of infection in humans because they found that the coronaviruses in humans and pangolins were 99% similar through genetic sequencing. They also found that the coronavirus in humans uses receptors with similar structures as the coronavirus in pangolins to initiate infection, indicating that the pangolin might, in fact, be the mammal that first transmitted the coronavirus to humans.

Regarding recent news centered on the morbidity and mortality of the new coronavirus, it has now surpassed the previous epidemic-causing coronavirus, SARS. Currently, over 800 people have died from the coronavirus, with most of these deaths occurring in China. However, there have been two reported deaths occurring outside of China, with one occurring in the Philippines and the other in Hong Kong. In addition, the first US citizen to die from the coronavirus has been reported in Wuhan, China. The number of confirmed infections is now 37,198, however, this number could be higher due to discrepancies in medical reporting. Even though these numbers seem alarming, there has actually been somewhat of a stabilization in the numbers. However, WHO officials suggest that this does not mean that the virus has been contained, as outbreaks can be relatively unpredictable.