This article contains things to know about the corona virus and what to do
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Maybe the only one who stayed in the room where I worked was the telephone next door. The whole room rumbled. The cause: President Joko Widodo officially announced two people who were positive for COVID-2019.
We rush to share assignments. The social media team and the reading room raised writings about the characteristics of people affected by the virus , and how to prevent it. Designers draw and move fast. Some coordinate to buy soap and hand sanitizers . The atmosphere was suddenly intense.
I, who just published an article about mathematics major, re-opened the file of research results about the corona virus that was settling since a few weeks ago. I read the news that is spread, collect pieces of data, filter it, press the bookmark button on important and valid articles.
I have to be fast, but not in a hurry.
From there, I found a number of points which, at least in my opinion, are important to share with you. It seems, we need to be more familiar with this Coronavirus novel, remembering how it can emerge, spread, check the way other countries respond, so that we are not trapped in wrong information and half measures and scare ourselves.
From this simple biology lesson, we already know what virus characteristics are like. Among the various body shapes of the virus, there is one family whose surface looks like a sun crown. In English it is called a crown. In Greek it is called korone.
Here comes the corona virus. What do you know about this corona virus?
This type of virus can cause transmission from animals to humans.
This virus family has many types. Coronavirus types that can be transmitted from animals to humans have even been discovered since 1960. The name of the virus is 229E and OC43. Yes, at first glance the name is like a motorcycle plate …
Broadly speaking, the classification of the corona virus is categorized into two broad groups. The first group that causes mild to moderate disease (influenza). The second group is the type that causes severe and unusual disease. For example, the SARS virus that broke out in 2002 and MERS in 2012. Both of these viruses are known to be transmitted through animals. SARS from bats and ferrets in Guangdong, China. While MERS from camels in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Usually, diseases that infect animals will not affect humans. Cats that have the flu will not necessarily infect us, for example. However, when a disease is able to jump to infect other species, the virus can spread rapidly.
Looking at its history, several times the interspecies leap virus has horrified the medical world.
HIV / AIDS in the 1980s originating from great apes. Bird flu 2004 from poultry. Swine flu in 2009. And the Ebola virus sourced from bats.
On January 9, 2020, WHO officially announced the newest type of corona virus: Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, with the name COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 ).
The first case occurred a day before the new year 2020. Based on WHO investigations, strong evidence of this virus came from one of the seafood markets in Wuhan. The symptoms and prevention you can check as follows:
The question is, how can a virus “move” from one species to another?
Indirectly, this happens because of climate change.
Viruses are a type of pathogen (a microorganism that can spread disease to its host) which afflicts many living things. He is scattered everywhere and develops over time. So, thank your body’s immune system.
As we know, in order to survive, the virus must undergo three stages. First, contact to the host, Second, infecting and replicating. Third, the new virus is looking for another host.
Let me have an idea about how to live the corona virus, let me give you an example of how the influenza virus attacks you. To be able to infect you, the flu virus must not only enter the body, but also must infect your body’s cells before it is killed by our immune system.
Therefore, this virus evolved.
Of course, this will only happen on a few occasions (if not, every day your work haci haci just because of continued virus attacks, please?).
These successful, evolving hero viruses envelop themselves with proteins that can be recognized by human receptors. In order to be none other than confusing our immune system. Tok Tok Tok. Is this an evil creature or protein? Maybe so ask your body’s immune system.
Sumber: TED-Ed via Youtube
After that, the virus will enter the cells in your body, and make it a factory that will spawn other cells that contain the virus. If you already like this, our immune system will be frustrated. Here is the moment you called the flu and it’s time for the virus to enter your friend’s body through your sneeze.
In essence, in order to enter and conquer our bodies, viruses must evolve into something specific.
As I said, viruses are everywhere. He alighted on various living things and always reproduced and mutated into new viruses. With an increasingly changing climate, it could be the habitat, nature, way of life of animals also change. That means, it is not impossible that the viruses that normally attack them also change.
The funny thing is, the evolution of viruses usually ends badly. Either it has no effect at all, or it becomes a worse virus. It took a long time and evolution many times until the virus was able to enter the new host outside the old host species. If that happens, the journey is still long. Its characteristics must be specific to the new host (such as the standard flu that needs evolution in order to cover itself with protein).
And one thing to remember, to infect us, the virus must still find a way, against the immune system in the body.
Also read: Already Available in Indonesia, These are the Characteristics of Corona Virus Infection
Nowadays, Coronavirus novel has been proven to be able to spread so rapidly. Starting from Wuhan, China, now it has spread to around 70 countries, including Indonesia, Iran and the United States who have just given the latest news. Until this article was written, it had plague more than 90 thousand people and claimed more than 3000 lives. Even so, the death rate of infected people tends to be small. 2% compared to Ebola which reached 50%. At present there are also more than 50,000 people who have recovered.
However, no matter what, this new type of virus is present before us. It is impossible for us to be quiet and watch it nest in our loved ones. So what should we do? (Ps: You can check the development of Coronavirus novels globally and in real time from this site . )
First, do not stir panic.
Like fire, panic will spread quickly and ignite terror and fear.
We already know how to anticipate the virus from entering the body, as well as the mechanism of the virus in our body. We also know that the incubation period of the virus (the time between someone infected until the symptoms appear can reach 2 weeks). This means you could be infected now (and infect other people), while the symptoms only appear in the next two weeks.
Coronavirus novels are also transmitted by droplets from other people’s sneezing or coughing. That is why the use of masks has become a hot topic lately.
In the Persistence of Coronaviruses on Inanimate Surfaces and Their Inactivation Biocidal Agents, it is stated that coronaviruses can survive on inanimate matter. Although this research does not specifically mention the novel coronavirus, it tests SARS – the type of coronavirus that is most “similar” to Novel coronavirus. There it was mentioned that SARS is able to live on inanimate objects between 2 hours to 9 days, depending on the type of material.
But just calm down. The research team says we can get rid of it easily using alcohol or disinfectant.
Therefore, we need to maintain endurance, eat nutritious foods, wash hands with soap, prepare the immune system to be able to defeat the rotten disease.
Second. We already know the characteristics of those infected with this virus. So, you should never do a self diagnosis. Don’t accuse and frighten yourself that you are exposed to Coronavirus Novels. Especially to accuse others and fear because of it.
Also don’t hide because you feel inferior.
Immediately contact your parents, express your anxiety. Ask him to take you to the doctor or vice versa. The Ministry of Health also provides telephone numbers that you can call to discuss the corona virus problem. Immediately contact (021) 5210411 or 081212123119 (note: this is the official hotline contact from the government, not Ruangguru).
Since we are in the post truth world , it is important to filter information amid this information noise. Hurry will only give birth to panic-the other.
In fact our lives continue to change and changes in population density, ecosystems, climate, global warming, and technology, will inevitably also impact on one thing: the discovery of new diseases.
In the middle of last year, Kelsey Piper wrote in Vox about mosquito habitat that is increasing rapidly due to urbanization and climate change. That means, zika, chikungunya, dengue fever, and yellow fever will get worse in the future. The results of nature microbiology research entitled Past and Future Spread of the Arbovirus Vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopicus revealed that in 2050, the Aedes aegypti mosquito will invade 19.91-23.45 million kilometers, depending on climate change and urban flows.
Professor Tim Benton, in his Coronavirus: Why Are We Catching More Diseases from Animals, said that to date, only 10% of pathogens have been identified. It takes more resources to get the rest and find out what animal is carrying the disease.
At a time like this, we only need two types of people: those who want to think objectively and are not consumed by tacky news and spread fear, and those who want to take a role and study the problem of viruses seriously.
Maybe the future is not in my hands but you who want to explore biology issues. Maybe this incident makes you believe that you are the one, who is interested and cares about problems like this.
