Origin of Corona Virus
In order to discuss this disease extensively, knowing its origin is important. Muhammad
(2020) gives a clear explanation about this. Coronaviruses belong to the Coronaviridae family in
the Nidovirales order. Muhammad (2020) further says that the name coronavirus was derived
from the virus's outer appearance. The coronavirus family also has subgroups. These include
alpha, beta, and gamma coronavirus. Initially, and out of preliminary research, scientists thought
to inflect only animals until the world witnessed a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
outbreak caused by SARS-CoV in 2002 Guangdong, China. No other outbreak was reported
globally until a decade later, in 2019, where the same infection was reported in China and
Wuhan. In December 2019, Wuhan, a business hub in China, experienced an outbreak of a novel
coronavirus. Statistics show that the coronavirus killed more than eighteen hundred and infected
over eighty thousand individuals within its first fifty days during its debut outbreak. In
comparison with the SRAS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 has a higher transmission rate. With adequate
research, scientists have found out reasons for this. Muhammad (2020) reports that the high
transmission rate of SARS-Cov-2 may be attributed to its genetic makeup. The recombination
event at S protein in the RBD region of SARS-CoV-2 may have enhanced its transmission
ability.
The coronavirus disease is a highly transmittable disease that emerged from Wuhan,
China. Experts say that the disease is a highly pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2
(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus). Genomic analysis has also proved that SARS-
COVID-19 3
CoV-2 is related to SARS-like bat viruses; hence bats could be the possible primary reservoir.
The source of origination and transmission is important to develop preventive strategies to
contain the infection. In research done by scientists, raccoon dogs and palm civets were used as
prospective reservoirs of the infection. However, samples obtained from this research showed
that the civet palm might be secondary hosts for this disease as they had positive results for RNA
detection. Later, Rhinolophus bats were also found to have anti-SARS-CoV antibodies,
suggesting that the bats are a viral replication source. Several different studies also found out that
the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus first emerged in 2012 in Saudi
Arabia. MERS-coronavirus also pertains to beta-coronavirus and having camels as a zoonotic
source or primary host. In a recent study, MERS-coronavirus was also detected in Pipistrellus
and Peri myotis bats, proffering that bats are the key host and transmitting medium of the virus.
Snakes were also seen to be possible hosts. A group of researchers suggested snakes as potential
hosts. Still, this suggestion was nullified after genomic similarity findings of the novel
coronavirus with SARS-like bat viruses supported the statement that not snakes but only bats
could be the key reservoirs. Additionally, analysis of homologous recombination revealed that
receptor binding spike glycoprotein of novel coronavirus is developed from a SARS-CoV and a
Beta-CoV that is unknown. However, more work is required to identify the intermediate
zoonotic source that causes the transmission of the virus to humans if this virus is to be
eradicated.
Human Human transmission
After knowing the coronavirus's origin, it would be interesting to discuss how the disease
is spread or transmitted from human to human. Scholarly views by Gabriel and Lerner (2020)
play a huge role in this. In their work, the two (Gabriel and Lerner, 2020) try to determine the
COVID-19 4
possibilities in which human to human transmission occurs. Gabriel and Lerner (2020) use 147
cases to identify this. Their research profile 147 cases referring to sex, age, residence, and
probable country of infection. Also, the two analyzed human-to-human transmission networks
and explored their structural features and dynamics. This study was done on Romanian
individuals. In Romania, local cycles of transmission were preceded by imported cases,
predominantly from Italy. Among the first 147 COVID-19 patients, 88 were imported cases, 54
were domestic cases, while the source of infection for the remaining five was unknown. From
the human to human transmission networks illustrated, super-spreaders' presence and the risk of
COVID-19 nosocomial infections were discovered. From this, it would be correct to assume that
COVID-19 occurred in Romania through case importation from Italy. Understanding the
transmission dynamics in the early stage of Covid-19 outbreaks is crucial for assessing
epidemiological situations and setting the effectiveness of outbreak control measures.
Descriptive statistics on the first 147 cases reported in Romania indicated that 60% are imported
cases from Italy (64 cases), The United Kingdom (5 cases), Israel and Germany (5 cases each),
Austria, Belgium, and France (2 cases each), Norway, Poland, Spain, The United Arab Emirates
and The United States of America (1 case each). Gabriel and Lerner (2020) add that Romania is
the probable infection country, while the infection source was still unknown for five cases.
Analysis of the transmission in Romania based on gender showed that 46% are females with an
average of 43 years old, while 53% are men with an average of 41 years old. For all genders, the
standard was 41.9 years old. Additionally, 39 out of 42 Romanian counties have imported cases,
and in only three situations are there inter-county COVID 19 transmissions. Data about human to
human transmission also backs this. The main results indicate that Romanian travelers,
predominantly from Italy to Romania, were the country's main source of virus spread. Their
COVID-19 5
return gave rise to local COVID 19 human-to-human transmission networks of a limited number
of chains. Despite the early stage in their development, these networks embedded super-
spreaders (few cases accounted for most infections). The most frequent mode of virus
transmission in these networks was nosocomial, suggesting rather a local and geographically
bounded circulation. COVID-19 spread across Romania occurred not by human-to-human
intercity or inter-province transmission networks.
Signs and Symptoms
Like any other disease, infection, or virus, Covid-19 is also presented through signs and
symptoms. However, these symptoms may vary in intensity from normal to mild symptoms
according to various factors, including the patient's age, immune system, and presence or
absence of any pre-existing condition. Since its spread in December in Wuhan, China, scientists
have managed to discover common symptoms through several interactions with coronavirus
positive patients that presented those symptoms. These symptoms are termed as common as they
were observed in most of the world's positive population at the virus contraction's initial stages.
These symptoms include fever, fatigue, body aches, secretion of mucus, loss of appetite, and a
dry cough. These symptoms are mostly manifested between 2 to 14 days of contracting the virus
for the typical cases. Apart from these, other characteristic symptoms may vary from: having a
sore throat, headache, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, and nasal congestions that led to the loss of
smell or taste.
However, the most common symptoms are difficulty breathing or shortness of breath since the
virus affects the respiratory area. The troubles in breathing arise when the virus comes into
contact with the mucous membrane that lines the nose, mouth, and eyes. The virus then travels
COVID-19 6
down the airways causing the lining to be irritated and inflamed. This inflammation leads to a
reduction in the amount of air that leaves and enters the lungs through inspiration and expiration,
respectively. However, patients with pre-existing conditions may display different symptoms
from these. In emergency cases, a patient may have trouble breathing, sudden confusion,
constant pain or pressure on the chest, and bluish lips or face. These are classified as some of the
mild symptoms. Other mild symptoms of Covid-19 may also include: pinkeye, coughing up
blood, heart problems, seizures, kidney damage, liver problems, fainting, swollen eyes, blood
clots, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Some doctors also reported rashes tied to covid-19,
including purple or blue lesions on children's toes and feet.
Furthermore, researchers said that these symptoms varied from children to adults. In children, the
symptoms tend to milder than in adults. Common symptoms are also more manifested in
children than in adults. Scientific reports have shown that the children population with Covid-19
had a fever (56%), cough (54%), and shortness of breath (13%). In extremely mild cases, the
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), H5N1 influenza A, H1N1 2009,
and MERS-CoV cause acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS),
which lead to pulmonary failure, and in turn results to fatality. Identification of symptoms might
help identify the disease, but further diagnosis and differential diagnosis would be needed to
differentiate the disease form other illnesses as they share some common symptoms.
Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis
Correct diagnosis of disease helps identify and the dispensation of proper medical care to
the right patient. One way of being sure of this is through laboratory diagnosis or laboratory
testing. The gold standard for diagnosis identifies viral genome targets by real-time polymerase
COVID-19 7
chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the respiratory tract materials during the first week of symptoms.
Serological tests should, however, be indicated from the second week of symptoms onwards. To
facilitate this, a wide range of laboratory tests are available. These tests, however, vary from
sensitivity and specificity. The laboratory tests include complete blood count, C-reactive protein
(CPR) test, D-dimer, clotting tests, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and ferritin. These tests identify
the risk of disease with greater severity, thromboembolic complications, myocardial damage, or
worse prognosis. Among these methods, the CPR test is the most commonly used and
recommended by the World Health Organization as it is the most effective in identifying the
coronavirus.
Furthermore, imagery tests may also be used to identify coronavirus, especially when a
compatible clinical picture and other tests presented negative results or were unavailable. The
imagery tests show that new diagnostic methods with higher sensitivity and specificity with faster
results are necessary. Although the RT-PCR is the standard gold test for identifying the virus's
genetic material, its sensitivity is not satisfactory. This demerit has led to the misdiagnosis of
coronavirus patients across the world, thus providing inaccurate data. With inaccurate data to
rely on, scientists have repetitively found it difficult to manage the disease by giving a vaccine
for the virus or stopping its spread. Therefore, this assertion implies that the diagnosis of COVID
19 should be based on clinical data, epidemiological history, tests for etiological diagnosis, and
tests to support the disease's diagnosis. Therefore, RT-PCR cannot be relied upon to correct the
coronavirus's correct identification despite it being the best among the rest of the testing
methods.
Differentiating Covid-19 from other diseases is another way of correcting identifying the
virus, thus stopping the spread. CT scans and MRI scans can be used in the differentiation
COVID-19 8
process. For Covid-19, the chest CT scan findings include vascular enlargement of the lesion,
bilateral ground-glass opacities, air space consolidation, and crazy paving signs. These findings
differ from those of other diseases such as; Influenza, pulmonary embolism, pericarditis,
congestive heart failure, and pneumonia, which share some of the common symptoms and mild
symptoms with Covid-19. For Influenza, findings of the chest CT scan indicated unilaterally or
bilateral ground-glass opacities. Results of pulmonary embolism also differ from those of Covid-
19. On CT angiography, an intra-luminal filling defect was detected. A subsequent MRI scan
also revealed narrowing of involved vessel, absence of any contrast in distal to the obstruction,
and a polo-mint sign. A Pericarditis CT scan revealed the pericardium's enhancement due to
inflammation, pericardial calcification, and pericardial effusion. A CT scan conducted for
congestive heart failure showed hazy mediastinal fat and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. On
MRI, patients with congestive heart failure showed an abnormality of cardiac chambers, late
enhancement of contrast in conditions such as myocarditis, sarcoidosis, and amyloidosis. CT
scans for patients with pneumonia also varied from those of patients with Covid-19. On CT scan,
abscess, pleural effusion, ground-glass opacity, and Peribranchial nodules are observed.
Although they may share certain physical common and mild symptoms, differential diagnoses of
these diseases show that they vary. On top of laboratory diagnosis, differential diagnosis can
determine whether a patient is infected with the coronavirus. The production of accurate data
about the virus assists in further analysis and research on how the virus can be stopped from
spreading or making a vaccine.
Preventive Measures
Scientists have come up with preventive measures to reduce its spread through severe
analysis of the infectious disease. The scientists suggested these methods are backed by
COVID-19 9
behavioral characteristics of the virus and the virus's biological composition. These measures
include wearing a protective surgical mask. As the disease's spread has become more prevalent,
different masks have continued to be manufactured to cover the entire nasal area and prevent the
nasal droplets from a positive person from reaching the nasal cavity. However, scientists have
discovered the best standard mask that allows zero leakages into the nasal area; this is the N-95
mask. The mask is highly recommended since it is almost round in shape and perfectly covers
the nasal area from the nose bridge to the chin. The mask also allows comfortable breathing
hence no suffocation. Other effective preventive measures include social distancing (1.5 m apart
at minimum), washing hands with running clean water and soap or using a sanitizer. Another
preventative measure is avoiding all sorts of physical body contacts, including handshakes,
hugging, and kissing. For the infected persons, a 14-day quarantine period would prevent them
from spreading the virus to the rest of the population, thus reducing the spread. Strict adherence
to these measures provided and approved by the World Health Organization will help curb the
virus's spread.
Financial and Social Effects of the Virus
The coronavirus has not only devastated the health sector but has also affected the
financial and social statuses of both individuals and countries. On the economic level, countries
have been forced to operate on a strained economy because of allocating most of its budget in
fighting the virus. Countries such as Italy, China, Spain, and America have been the worst hit,
struggling to revive their economies once more. These financial losses come from measures such
as lockdowns and curfews to curb the spread of the disease. The steps led to the closure of
business premises and transport activities that contributed hugely to countries' tax and revenue.
On an individual level, many have remained jobless and redundant. For instance, countries like
COVID-19 10
America reported one million unemployment cases after measures to curb the virus were put in
place. Businesses have had to lay off some or all of their employees to remain barely afloat.
The virus has also affected daily societal and social activities. The spread of the virus led
to racially-based criticism against the Chinese, where the virus originated. Although scientists
have done their part in explaining the virus's real origin, some still believe that it is the Chinese
fault that the world is shut down. Cases of stigma have also been reported by individuals who
once suffered from the virus. Individuals from countries heavily affected by the virus were
shunned or avoided by their peers in fear of contracting the virus. The discrimination saw the
development of condescending epithets towards them. From this, it is evident that more work
still needs to be done on our society to defeat this virus.
In conclusion, this discussion has explained, and discussed findings carried out on
research about coronavirus. Throughout the discussion, facts, figures, and percentages have been
used to describe certain metrics about Covid-19, such as the extensity of its spread and the
intensity of its infection shown through symptoms. The paper also puts in perspective the origin
of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is a recent occurrence of coronaviruses' family. In the initial
stage, it explains the primary source of human transmission. Further development of the paper
saw it indulge in more information about the virus, such as human-to-human transmission, signs
and symptoms of the virus, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of the virus, preventive
measures, and the virus's effect economically and socially. It also, however, true that traditional
and superstitious beliefs have hindered the fight against this virus. Out of ignorance, some still
believe that the virus is a result of the devil's work and that only prayers and rituals can send it
away. The ignorance has seen the utter violation of the World Health Organization guidelines, a
situation that has propelled the spread and fatality rate of the virus. As we continue to follow the
COVID-19 11
measures put in place, sensitization is needed to be done in some parts of the world to create
enough awareness about this virus's gravity.
References
Muhammad, A. (2020). COVID-19 infection: Origin, transmission, and characteristics of human
coronaviruses. ScienceDirect. Journal of Advanced Research 24, 91-98.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.005
Zhang, T. (2020). Probable Pangolin Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with the COVID-19
Outbreak. ScienceDirect. Current Biology 30 (7), 1346-1351.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.022
David, M, and Charles, C. (2020). The origin of COVID-19 and why it matters. The American
Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine
and Hygiene, 103 (3), 955-959. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0849
Ayan, R. (2020). Strategies to trace back the origin of COVID-19. Journal of Infection 80 (6),
e39-e40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.032
Andrew, R, and Edward, H. (2020). The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nature Medicine.
Nature Medicine 26, 450-452.
Gabriel, H, and Lerner, J. (2020). Early Spread of COVID-19 in Romania: imported cases from
Italy and human-to-human transmission networks. The Royal Society Publishing. Royal
Society Open Science. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200780.
COVID-19