The coronavirus pandemic is widespread in most countries of the world and it will not end soon with the rapid and rapid rate at which positive cases are increasing. Many people wonder: how old is the coronavirus? Is it new or has it been around for a long time?
To answer this question, we brought this post today where we will let you know a brief history of this virus and shed some light on some of the similar viruses that occurred on Earth a few years ago.
Let’s see this in detail.
Old and new coronavirus
The category of coronaviruses can be divided into two groups: “old” and “new” according to the period during which they infect humans. The coronavirus can be divided into four groups: alpha, beta, gamma and delta, but among the four, only alpha and beta infect humans, gamma and delta do not infect humans.
The old viruses have been around for a long time, for centuries, but they were only identified for the first time in the mid-1960s. The 229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1 viruses have been around for a long time. The first two 229E, NL63 are alpha coronaviruses and the next two: OC43, HKU1 are beta coronaviruses. These four viruses cause a slight respiratory infection and the last: HKU1 is also responsible for a gastrointestinal infection.
New viruses are more dangerous because they are very infectious and spread quickly from one person to another. The most recent viruses include three main viruses: SARS, MERS and SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19).
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV. The current coronavirus is linked to a similar strain of SARS-CoV. Now let’s take a closer look at the new viruses.
SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)
This is the current pandemic that is spreading around the world. By spreading, it has infected more than 15 lakh people and killed more than 95,000 lives. Departing from China, it reached most countries and forced governments to lock down cities to stop its spread.
This virus is transmitted to humans by an animal. For example, COVID-19 is believed to have been transmitted to humans by an animal. Bats are suspect here, either the virus was transmitted from bats to humans directly on the Wuhan market, or through an intermediary.
The intermediary is believed to be a Pangolin where the bats transmitted the virus to Pangolin and then infected humans via Pangolin. This is just speculation from experts and currently it is not confirmed what is the source of this virus.
Symptoms of this disease are cough, fever and respiratory problems. The virus remains stuck in the lungs, making it difficult for humans to breathe. That’s why a fan needs it so much these days. In addition, the virus remains on various objects for a long time: 24 to 48 hours so that people who come into contact with this infected object are also infected.
The death rate from this virus is not that much, but if proper care is not taken, the number of positive cases will continue to increase and this will be a problem for all of us. Frequent hand washing with a disinfectant, maintaining social distance and wearing masks are the necessary preventive measures that one must take to avoid this virus.
Mers
MERS spread to the Middle East a few years ago. It represents the Middle East respiratory syndrome; it is part of the betacoronavirus. It is transmitted by camels, so it is also called camel flu. Its source is bats, but camels are the intermediaries that transmit the virus to humans.
Symptoms of this virus are cough, fever, diarrhea, difficulty breathing. Like COVID-19, this problem is more serious in patients who also have other problems.
If a person comes into very close contact with the infected person, chances are they will be affected. There is therefore especially risks of transmission of this virus in hospitals and we see that it is not transmitted in public places. Its risk of spread is very low.
The first case of this virus was identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. After that, an epidemic of this virus spread in 2015 in South Korea and was again reported in 2018 affecting Saudi Arabia.
Until the year 2020, no vaccine was found for this. It is recommended to wash your hands thoroughly when coming into contact with camels. In addition, sick camels should not be affected as there is a good chance of being infected. Camel-based food products must be properly cooked so that the virus is killed if there is one.
SARS-CoV
2002 was the first time that an epidemic of the SARS virus had spread. He came from the city of Foshan in China. Nearly 8,000 people have been infected with the virus and more than 750 deaths have been reported worldwide.
Symptoms of SARS-CoV are fever, lethargy, muscle pain, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath and can cause pneumonia. He was arrested in 2004 and is not visible so far.
Here is an overview of the coronavirus and its related diseases. To answer your question at the conclusion: how old is the coronavirus? we can say that it is quite old and that the various diseases of the genes linked to current SARS-CoV-2 have already been encountered by humanity.
Prevent yourself from being infected with this virus and take the necessary measures to protect yourself and your family. Stay at home and be safe!
