Enlight21

Author: Sue C. | Category: Health & Medicine | Date: 02-09-2020

As of March 13, there have been 5,436 deaths globally, out of approximately 145,686 infected.  the US: now has  2,329 confirmed cases with 50 deaths. Italy has been hit hard as there are now 17,660 cases and over 1,266 deaths.  Trump declares a national emergency and the House, led by the Democrats, passed the Coronavirus bill providing free coronavirus testing and treatment and paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.

Coronavirus Statistics (more)

US:  2,329 cases          50 dead

Total Global Deaths:  5,436  (3,189 in China)
Total Cases:  145,686 (80,824 in China)
Most cases outside China are in Iran, South Korea, and Italy:
 Iran (11,364 cases 514 deaths)
So. Korea (8,086 cases and 72 deaths)
Italy (17,660 cases and 1,266 deaths)

Origins:  China’s Wildlife Markets

If you are wondering where the Corona virus originated, look no further than China’s thriving markets that sell wildlife (akin to “bushmeat” in Africa).  Just like the SARS virus epidemic in 2003, the origins are clear:  for both epidemics, markets like the one in Wuhan, the source of the current cornona virus, are the source. These wildlife markets sell all kinds of exotic wildlife such as civet cats, snakes, pangolins, etc., to restaurants and affluent  customers who see providing such exotic meats as a status symbol.  Such commercial trafficking in wildlife sales is enabled by a persistent superstitious belief in the health benefits of exotic meat in Chinese culture.  

Even though the precise trajectory of how the current Coronavirus sprang from wildlife to humans has not yet been pinpointed, wildlife experts such as Christian Walzer of the Wildlife Conservation Society states that confining wild animals in small cages is a perfect breeding ground for new viruses  because “Each animal is a package of pathogens.”  

In fact, such transmission of lethal viruses that jumped from wild animals to humans has happened over and over again.  To name just a few--the Bubonic plague, malaria, toxoplasmosis, rabies—are all viruses that hopped from other species to infect humans.  

More recently, these are the most infamous inter-species epidemics: the Zika virus, which originated in the forests of Africa and is transmitted by mosquitoes, the infamous Ebola virus that is thought to have originated in Africa from bushmeat consumption, the SARS virus from China’s wildlife markets, and the extremely lethal AIDS virus that was traced to chimps and other primates in Africa before it established a strong foothold among humans (most likely from the increased  consumption of bushmeat).  more
 

In the U.S. there are now 1748 cases and 41 deaths mostly in WA and CA. 

While the President downplayed the coronavirus threat, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) warned that the virus will spread across the U.S. and recommended community organizations such as schools, hospitals and businesses, begin to prepare for a pandemic.  

The World Health Organization just declared that we are in the midst of a pandemic.  Projections are that in the U.S. there will be 150 million infected eventually.

Dr. Nancy Messonier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a news briefing that “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen.”  (more)

This new Coronavirus has exceeded the fatality and infection numbers of SARS in 2003:  The total number infected with SARS was 8,000 and the number of deaths was 774.
 

The incubation period is 2 to 14 days, so countries are quarantining people form China for up to 14 days.  

It is a respiratory virus that travels through the air in tiny droplets but falls to the ground within a few feet of the source of infection (unlike the TB and measles viruses that can travel a few hundred feet).  According to a Lancet study, one person is most likely to infect 2.2  others, which means that it is quite infectious, more so than even the deadly 1918 flu virus. (more)

Because it is a respiratory virus, the symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath and pneumonia as the virus latches onto the surface of lung cells and destroys lung tissues.   The fatality rate is about 11%, according to the Lancet study.  

As of 2/17/2020, Chinese hospital officials in Wuhan, the epicenter, report that they now have enough data to say with a degree of certainty that among the infected, 80% will show just mild respiratory symptoms, 14% will develop pneymonia, 5% will be in critical condition, and 2% will succumb to COVID-19. 

In Japan, doctors are beginning to treat those infected with the same cocktail of drugs used to treat HIV, or AIDS, patients.

Analysis and Opinion:

Humans should stop eating wildlife and, we should do all we can to preserve the ecosystems that are the natural habitats of  wildlife species.  Because of the loss of a high percentage of natural habitats due to the encroachment of humans’ commercial activities and through direct poaching, many wild species have either died or have been living under stressful conditions.  Furthermore, climate change/global warming has contributed to the degradation of ecosystems.  

This means that ecosystems in which wild animals play critical roles in offering beneficial services--filtering water, air purification, climate regulation, waste treatment, pollination, raw materials, disease regulation, etc.--are being destroyed at a rapid clip, and with that, wildlife in poor health are prey to viruses and bacteria, which they could have resisted had they been in good health.  

And when they are further stressed through captivity, they are unable to mount effective immune reactions and the viruses they harbor will be able to multiply rapidly.  Once in contact with humans, these lethal microbes find great hosts to help them propagate.  

About: Sue C.

Hi All: Like most people in the Bay Area, I'm sheltering at home. I'm trying to use this opportunity to catch up on projects that are on my back burner and trying not to feel too anxious about the worst case scenarios that are circulating.