Coronavirus Outbreak: All you need to know about the fast-spreading disease

Coronavirus is a new disease that has broken out in China, specifically in Wuhan – a central Chinese city. The newly discovered virus has already claimed over 40 lives in China as of today. The virus, which gets its name from its crown-like structure, began rapidly spreading across the country in the second week of January.

The deadly disease has been spreading rampantly, with over 1300 people infected by it in China alone. The disease that broke out in Asia has now feared to have spread to other parts of the world including Australia, France, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the USA.

Authorities have confirmed that Coronavirus, which causes common cold-like symptoms, has no cure yet. The Chinese government has been making rapid arrangements to keep up with the rising number of people getting affected by the virus.

What are the symptoms?

Coronavirus infected patients are likely to show symptoms similar to the common cold – including cough, chest congestion, running nose and eyes. Continuous dry cough and allergy-like symptoms are among the other symptoms. The more severe symptoms include viral pneumonia – the main symptom that is rushing people infected to the hospitals.

The situation in India:

Security at airports across India has been beefed up to check for coronavirus. So far, there have been eleven suspects in four cities under vigilance. Of these, seven are from Kerala, two from Mumbai and one each in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. All of the possible carriers have been kept in isolation.

While there haven’t been cases of the disease reported in India yet, Wuhan Medical University, which is situated at the epicenter of the virus outbreak, houses several Indian medical students. An Indian living in Shenzen has reportedly been affected by coronavirus. The victim’s family has reached out to the Indian government to help fund the treatment cost that has gone up to Rs. 1 crore.