By Jordan Green
UNIVERSITY CENTER — The coronavirus death toll has reached a grim 1,000 deaths as of Tuesday, Feb. 11. If that number has you scrambling to the store to stock up on face masks and twinkies, just remember that 34,000 Americans died from the flu last year.
What is it?
The 2019-nCoV is an unknown strain of coronavirus that typically spreads among animals. The virus was first spotted in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China after stallholders from a local seafood market showed symptoms on Dec. 31, 2019. The virus was detected on Jan. 7 after Chinese health authorities announced they had isolated the 2019-nCoV pathogen from an infected patient.
Who is most at risk?
Those most at risk for this virus are generally young children and elderly people with underlying conditions, such as hypertension, heart disorders, diabetes or liver disorders.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms for coronavirus mimic flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle aches and tiredness. The most severe patients with coronavirus will develop pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock, which can lead to death.
There is no cure for the virus. However, more than 6,000 people have recovered from the illness.
How is it spread?
The virus travels from person to person much like the flu, with tiny droplets that occur when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the droplets land on people around them.
Where is it?
Mainland China has been affected the most with more than 40,000 cases confirmed. Nearby countries have been affected with their total number of cases being less than 200.
