Everything You Should Know About The Deadly Coronavirus
By now, you’ve probably read a headline or two about coronavirus and how Australian authorities are screening passengers from some flights arriving from China.
The virus has been circulating around Wuhan, China, for about a month now, infecting several hundred people and killing at least 17, according to the latest figures shared by Chinese health officials on Wednesday.
Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy warned that an outbreak would be hard to prevent.
“You cannot absolutely prevent the spread of disease into the country. The incubation period is probably a week,” Murphy told reporters in Canberra.
“It’s about identifying those with a high risk and making sure those who have a high risk know about it and know how to get medical attention.”
You’re probably wondering if we’re on the cusp of an outbreak, and if so, what your odds of getting sick are.
Though health officials are still learning about the virus, it currently looks unlikely that we’ll see an outbreak in countries like Australia or the US. That said, it’s good to be armed with information. Here’s what we know about coronavirus so far:
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus refers to a group of viruses known to cause respiratory infections. Some cases can be mild, whereas others involve more serious symptoms. The vast majority of coronavirus strains are benign, according to William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. If you do contract coronavirus, it’s typically no worse than a cold.
Some coronavirus strains live in humans, and some live in animals. In the current outbreak in Wuhan, the virus was passed from an animal to a human, an event the World Health Organization calls “a spillover event.”
“Every once in a while, one of these animal viruses gets rogue and jumps species from the animal species to the human,” Schaffner told...
