• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Sunday, May 22, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Coronavirus Outbreak: What We Know and What SARS Taught Us

Arinjay Banerjee by Arinjay Banerjee
01/24/20
in Opinion
A man leaves the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where a man who died from a respiratory illness was being treated, in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Jan. 12, 2020.

The virus appears to have originated in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Photo: Noel Celis, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As the world celebrated the new year and settled down from festivities, dreaded news emerged: the outbreak of a mysterious SARS-like virus in Wuhan in eastern China. The cases were linked to a large wholesale fish and live animal market in the city.

Soon after, virologists across the globe started deliberating if there were fish and reptilian viruses that could have possibly transferred to humans.

2003 SARS Epidemic

The story of a respiratory virus emerging from a wet food market is all too familiar. In 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in a food market in China. The virus infected over 8000 people worldwide, of which 774 died.

Asia steps up defences against new SARS-like virus, introducing mandatory screenings at airports https://t.co/9T0xFjjJ5W pic.twitter.com/YknhNduTEF

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 21, 2020

Extensive epidemiological surveillance and molecular analysis identified civet cats as the carrier of SARS. These animals were sold in wet food markets at the time. As a result of the outbreak, thousands of civet cats were culled, and their sale and consumption banned. Further research later identified that SARS coronavirus likely jumped from bats into civet cats as research groups detected SARS-like viruses in regional bats.

The news of the current outbreak has struck fear in the hearts of many that lived through the SARS pandemic.

Coronavirus Outbreak

While there are many gaps in knowledge regarding the latest coronavirus outbreak, our understanding is growing by the day.

Over the past two weeks, significant progress has been made to identify the virus that is likely responsible for the new outbreaks – a new type of virus related to SARS coronavirus. This virus was initially informally dubbed Wuhan-CoV, but the World Health Organization has now labeled the virus 2019-nCoV.

It has also been discovered that the market where the virus originated from sold live animals, including raccoon dogs and other small mammals. Although we do not know for certain if the virus jumped from an animal in the market to humans, past experience with SARS does make it a likely scenario.

2019-nCoV’s Genetic Backbone

In addition to identifying the new coronavirus, advancement and affordability of next-generation sequencing technology have enabled a quick detection and identification of the virus’ genetic backbone. A team led by Dr. Yong-Zhen Zhong of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre decoded and posted the draft genome of the new coronavirus.

The scientific community has applauded the quick sharing of the genomic sequence. Subsequently, multiple researchers compared the genetic sequences of the current virus with genomes of known coronaviruses, including SARS.

Rapid phylogenetic analysis of novel Wuhan China human Coronavirus shows it definitely clusters with the #SARS-related CoV clade. Note: prelim analysis based on 410bp of RdRp. More analyses forthcoming, but great to see seq data being shared by China. @EcoHealthNYC @PeterDaszak pic.twitter.com/M25hCOy5M1

— Kevin J Olival (@nycbat) January 11, 2020

The analysis indicates that the current virus is sufficiently different from SARS and that it deserves its own name. An evolutionary analysis identified that 2019-nCoV was more closely related to SARS-like viruses that have been previously detected in bats.

As more cases have now been identified and additional virus genomes have been sequenced, what looks promising is that the virus seems to be very similar to the first strain that was detected in Wuhan. This means that it is unlikely that there have been multiple exposures to different sources of the virus.

The uncertainty about this new coronavirus is that we do not know where and how it entered the human population. Investigative work over the next few weeks will be critical in identifying the source of the first case, the animal carrier (if any), and the virus’ potential to adapt and evolve inside the human body.

Human-to-Human Transmission

The longer a virus spends circulating within humans, the likelier it is to mutate and evolve to become more fit for human-to-human transmission.

The looming threat of human-to-human transmission was initially denied or not observed. This changed earlier this week when Zhong Nanshen, a respiratory expert and head of China’s national health commission team investigating the outbreak, confirmed that two cases had been caused by human-to-human transmission, including the infection of medical staff.

Again, this is very similar to the 2003 SARS outbreak, where medical staff was infected as well. As of writing this article, the first case of 2019-nCoV has been identified in the United States, while other patients have been confirmed in Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as well as Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, and South Korea.

Unfortunately, the virus has already claimed the lives of 17 people and infected hundreds of others.

How Concerned Should We Be?

Over 16 years of research on SARS and other coronaviruses means that the scientific community and global health organizations are now better prepared. Research has identified potential therapeutic options that may reduce virus propagation in infected individuals.

Early unverified reports have identified an antiviral drug cocktail (lopinavir/ritonavir, tradename Kaletra) that is being given to infected individuals.

The world has learned from the SARS outbreak, and the scientific community is actively collaborating and discussing solutions and next steps as we speak.

Increased surveillance, research capacity, and better quarantine protocols in healthcare will allow us to hopefully control this ongoing outbreak.

If you want to stay up to date on this outbreak via Twitter, these accounts are actively following and sharing reports: @hayesluk, @TheMenacheryLab, @Baric_Lab, @nycbat, @MackayIM, and @MattFrieman. Most major health organizations are also providing updates as they become available.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Arinjay Banerjee

Arinjay Banerjee

Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University. He investigates virus-host interactions in bats, including how Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus modulates immune responses in human and bat cells

Related Posts

China Muslim Uyghurs
Opinion

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

by Jianli Yang
April 23, 2022
European Medicines Agency
World

EU Watchdog Approves Second Covid Booster for Over 80s

by Staff Writer
April 6, 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping
Opinion

How Wrong ‘How China Can End the War in Ukraine’ Is

by Yan Yu and Jianli Yang
April 1, 2022
Protestors hold signs as they gather during a rally for Uyghur Freedom
Featured

It’s Time We Give Corporations a Human Rights Scorecard

by Jianli Yang and Alvaro Piaggio
March 9, 2022
China Uyghurs
World

UN Says No Rights Report on China’s Xinjiang Before Olympics

by Staff Writer
January 28, 2022
China Uyghurs
World

French Parliament Officially Recognizes China’s Uyghur ‘Genocide’

by Staff Writer
January 20, 2022
Next Post
Saudi Detains 9 Academics, Writers in New Crackdown

UN Experts Urge Probe Into Alleged Saudi Hacking of Bezos

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

The Illusion of Russian Influence in the Western Balkans

Recommended

Volkswagen logo

German Farmer Sues Volkswagen Over CO2 Emissions

May 20, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Russia Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in First Quarter

May 18, 2022
Mexico missing people

Over 100,000 People Reported Missing in Mexico, Data Reveals

May 17, 2022
Shireen Abu Akleh

Jerusalem Archbishop Condemns Israeli Police Raid at Journalist’s Funeral

May 16, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
Israel

15 European Nations Urge Israel to Reverse Plans for More Settler Homes

May 13, 2022

Opinion

A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Ukraine war

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Hierarchies of Western Compassion

April 20, 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping

How Wrong ‘How China Can End the War in Ukraine’ Is

April 1, 2022
Ukraine children

The War for Ukraine’s Lives and Minds

March 30, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post