Overview
Coronavirus is a common type of virus that causes infections in your nose, sinus, or upper throat. Most coronaviruses are not dangerous.
Although some types of them are serious. About 858 people have died of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and then in other countries of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. In April 2014, the first American was hospitalized for MERS in Indiana and another case occurred in Florida. Both returned from Saudi Arabia. In May 2015, the MERS outbreak occurred in Korea, the largest outbreak outside the Arabian Peninsula. In 2003, an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) resulted in 774 deaths. As of 2015, there were no further reports of SARS cases. MERS and SARS are types of coronaviruses.
But in early January 2020, the World Health Organization identified a new type: the 2019 novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China. By the end of January, China had 300 confirmed cases and one death count that was still in the single digits but continued to rise. And despite airport screening, a passenger made the first case in the U.S.
Often a coronavirus causes symptoms of an upper respiratory infection, such as a runny nose, cough, and sore throat. You can handle them with rest and over-the-counter remedy. Coronavirus can also cause central ear infection in kids.
What is a coronavirus?
Coronavirus was first identified in the 1960s, but we do not know where they come from. They derive their name from their crown-like shape. Occasionally, but not often, a coronavirus can infect both animals and humans.
Most coronaviruses spread in the same way as other cold-causing viruses do: through coughing and sneezing by infected people, touching the hands or face of an infected person, or touching things like docknobs that infected people have touched.
Almost everyone gets a coronavirus infection at least once in their lives, most likely as a young child. In the United States, coronaviruses are more common in the fall and winter, but anyone can come down with a coronavirus infection at any time.
Common symptoms of coronavirus
Most coronavirus symptoms are similar to any other upper respiratory infection, including runny nose, cough, sore throat, and sometimes fever. In most cases, you will not know if you have coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
You can do laboratory tests, including nasal and throat cultures and blood work, to find out if your cold was caused by a coronavirus, but there is no reason why. Test decisions do not change how you manage your symptoms, which regularly go away in several days.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease, or people with weakened immune systems.
What to do about coronavirus
There is no vaccine for coronavirus. To help prevent coronavirus infection, do the same things you do to avoid the common cold:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water or with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Keep your hands and fingers away from your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Avoid close contact with infected people.
You treat a coronavirus infection in the same way that you treat a cold:
- get plenty of rest.
- drink fluids.
Take over-the-counter medicine for sore throat and fever. But do not give aspirin to children or adolescents younger than 19 years; Use ibuprofen or acetaminophen instead.
A humidifier or steamy shower can also help reduce sore throat and scratches.
Even when a coronavirus causes MERS or SARS in other countries, coronavirus infection in the US, in general, is not a serious threat to an otherwise healthy adult. If you become ill, treat your symptoms and contact the doctor if it worsens or does not go away.