Rep. Mark Green Update On Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Current Numbers as of 9am, March 11, 2020
# of Cases Worldwide: 121,230 # of Deaths Worldwide: 4,378
# of New Cases in China: 34 Decrease in New Cases: -72.8% in past 5 days
# of Cases United States: 1,015 # of Deaths United States: 31
# of Cases South Korea: 7,755 # of Deaths South Korea: 61
# of New Cases in South Korea: 242 Decrease or Increase in New Cases: -44.4% in past 5 days
# of Cases Italy: 10,149 # of Deaths Italy: 631
# of New Cases in Italy: 1,797 Decrease or Increase in New Cases: +306% in past 5 days
Clinical Presentation:
Clinically, patients present with upper respiratory tract infection symptom, that can progress to fever, cough and shortness of breath. A sore throat and a runny nose happens in just a few cases, 14% and 5% of cases respectively according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Typically, the fever is high: 103 – 104 degrees.
80% of patients will have mild to moderate symptoms. Patients with mild disease will recover in two weeks. For those with severe disease, about 20%, recovery is three to six weeks.
The average incubation period is around 5 days but many people do not show signs of infection for as long as 26 days.
Facts on Mortality:
Mortality in China: 3.8%
Mortality in Italy: 5.0% Mortality in South Korea: 0.7%
Patients greater than 80 years of age have a 14.8% mortality rate.
Cardiovascular disease mortality 10.5% and Diabetes is 7.4%.
No child less than 10 has died of the disease.
Influenza was the 8th most common cause of death for adults in 2017.
Facts on Transmission:
The virus is spread by respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, and fecal oral route. It survives on surfaces for 24 hours. Hand sanitizer and disinfectants work to kill the virus.
What Americans Should Do to Avoid the Spread of the Virus:
Avoid close contact with sick people
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Wash your hands after using the restroom
Stay home if sick
Cover coughs and sneezes, preferably with an arm, not a palm of your hand
Disinfect often touched objects and surfaces
Use hand sanitizer liberally
Wash hands frequently
Details on The Virus:
This is an RNA virus. There are seven strains of Coronavirus that effect humans, four of which make up 25% of the common cold. MERS and SARS are both Coronavirus with much more severe mortality rates, 34% and 9.5% respectively. The virus has mutated to a more transmissible form (L Type). 70% of new cases are the L-Type.
The virus is a 96% match to a Coronavirus in Pangolin’s. It was not manufactured in a lab.
The virus has substantial number of proteins on its cap giving it a distinctive “crown” like appearance on electron microscopy. Hence the name… Coronavirus.
Three drugs are showing promise at treating the disease:
Chloroquine used to treat malaria.
Ritonavir used to treat HIV.
Remdesivir a drug built to treat Ebola is being studied at the University of Nebraska. This drug incorporates itself into the RNA as it is being made and terminates the RNA replication process early.
Monoclonal antibodies also show some hope. The virus attacks the lung tissue directly so it is hoped that a patient given the antibodies will halt the lung tissue damage.
