>>8343972 pb notable >>8344060 pb notable >>8344217pb notable >>8344223 pb notable dig call - Stuart Siddell
‘Conspiracy theorists are wrong – coronavirus exists in nature … the genomic sequence of the virus has been determined’
The outbreak of a novel coronavirus infection, which originated in Wuhan in China in December last year and has spread to 29 countries already, is among the biggest health crises world has faced in recent times. But it may not be the last one. Stuart Siddell, an emeritus professor at the University of Bristol, who has been researching on coronaviruses for over 25 years, tells Durgesh Nandan Jha how increased contact between humans and wild animals has the potential to unleash more outbreaks caused by viruses previously restricted to animals:
Coronaviruses were discovered in 1960s. We have witnessed outbreaks caused by them in the past as well. What is so different this time?
When I started researching on coronaviruses, they weren’t considered a threat because it caused milder symptoms such as cough and cold in humans.
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle-East respiratory syndrome), two coronaviruses that led to outbreaks in 2002 and 2012 respectively, did cause severe symptoms but their transmission rates were lower compared to COVID-19 – the name given to the novel coronavirus by WHO.
SARS started in Guangdong in China, affected around 8,000 people and killed 744. MERS coronavirus outbreak started in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and remained restricted mostly to the region. It affected around 2,500.
However, in a span of merely three months since it was discovered, preliminary data suggests COVID-19 has affected over 75,000 people. The actual figure could be higher. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 is said to be around 2,000.
What could be the possible reason for higher transmission rate of COVID-19?
This could be because unlike SARS, which primarily affected the lungs, COVID-19 causes infection in the upper respiratory tract or throat. It is easier for the infection to spread from throat than deep down the lungs.
Every time a patient coughs or sneezes, the droplets containing the virus are released and they tend to spread. Mortality has been observed mainly in elderly people, those with pre-existing illnesses and low immunity.
Some conspiracy theorists suggest an accidental leak of a biological weapon in making could have led to this.
Conspiracy theories are totally false. The genomic sequence of COVID-19 has been determined and it confirms that the virus belongs to the one that exists in nature.
Coronaviruses are known to cause diseases in animals. SARS belonged to the same family as COVID-19. It was passed on to the civets from the bats and from there it spread to humans. COVID-19 is also supposed to have spread from bats.
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