The Chinese Coronavirus Strain Is Dangerous Because It Is Novel

It appears to be a new strain of coronavirus, a type of virus which causes a lot of respiratory infections, most of them mild and relatively harmless. The problem with novel viruses is that our immune systems are not familiar with them, and can't defend well against them immediately. You almost certainly have been infected in the past with some coronavirus strain. If asked, you'd have said you had a cold.

Remember SARS, from 2003. That was another coronavirus, which was more lethal in humans. It was pretty quickly limited in its spread, and didn't become a global issue, really.

This new strain, labeled 2019-nCoV, is a novel strain, with characteristics that increase its lethality and infectuous nature. Our immune systems don't recognize it, which gives it a chance to cause more severe illnesses before our immune systems can ramp up our defenses against it.

It developed in a live animal and seafood market, and infected some people in that environment. However, it also was able to infect other people through direct human to human pathways. That makes it a potential strong risk for spreading.

Fortunately, it was detected fairly early in its spread, probably due to its lethality. China has locked down the city where it originated and other nations went on the alert almost immediately. Measures have been put in place very quickly to identify potentially infected individuals at airports and other points of entry and testing for the virus is speeding up quickly.

Efforts are underway to produce an effective vaccine for this novel virus on an accelerated schedule.

So, should you be worried about this virus being a threat to you and your loved ones? Probably not at this point. Not yet. Keep an eye on the news about it and for reported infections where you live. Odds are that, like SARS, the measures in place will stop it from being an epidemic in countries and regions other than where it emerged. That could change, but the response to this virus has been fast and focused, so it's more likely to fail to establish itself in the United States.

The Wikipedia article below is being updated frequently, based on current knowledge and information. You can watch it for additional information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel_coronavirus_(2019-nCoV)

Note: to reach that Wiki, copy and paste the entire link, which does not convert to a complete link on DU. If you click the blue link here, you'll reach a different page, where there is a link to the other page at the top of the page.