The cause of “Wuhan pneumonia” that is creating enormous amount of fear across the world is the new strain of coronavirus. WHO (World Health Organization) confirmed that the new strain of coronavirus is the cause of pneumonia-like deaths in Wuhan.
Coronavirus was given its name due to the fact that it creates an image reminiscent of the solar corona when it is seen under an electronic microscope.
SARS from 2003 and MERS from 2012 are prime examples of variant coronaviruses. Currently, seven variant coronaviruses have been found. Although symptoms naturally get better as times goes by, variant coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS can sometimes cause deaths. BBC reported that the new strain of coronavirus is reminiscent of SARS that had brought fear across the world in 2003 with Asian countries such as Hong Kong and China at the center.
The new strain of coronavirus was named ‘2019-nCoV’ due to the fact that a person was infected by it for the first time at the end of 2019. WHO reported on the 31st of December through its Chinese branch about cases of pneumonia caused by an unknown factor in Wuhan.
It has been confirmed that the new strain of coronavirus is more similar to SARS than other coronaviruses that can spread to humans after analyzing its genetic system.
After Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) and Prevention obtained and analyzed the genome sequence of the new strain of coronavirus through Fudan University, percentage of homology between the new strain and “SARS-like coronavirus originated from bat” was 89.1%. Homology shows how similar genes are between two things. Percentages of homology between the new strain and SARS and MERS were 77% and 50% respectively.
“Because we have just come to know about this new strain, there is not enough information about the virus.” said a representative for KCDC. “China and WHO predict that the infectivity and the level of severity of the new strain will be different from that of SARS.”
It is predicted that the new strain was originated from an animal or a seafood just like other coronaviruses.
This prediction comes from the fact that the significant number of early infected people are merchants and regulars of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market that is located at the center of Wuhan that has a population of 11 million people. Wild animals were also sold at the market in addition to seafood.
It has been confirmed that the strain can spread from a person to a person. Although scientists predict that the strain was originated from an animal, they believe that there can be an infection between people. Actually, the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China stated that they believed that two cases of infections reported from Guangdong on the 20th was a contagion between two people and that medical members were also infected by the two infected people.
Staff Reporter Jung, Youngil | jung01@etnews.com