Questions people ask on novel coronavirus or COVID-19 as WHO now calls it 

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some coronaviruses cause illness in humans, and others cause illness in animals,such as bats, camels, and civets. Human coronaviruses generally cause mild illness, such as the common cold.

Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve to infect and spread among humans, causing severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) which emerged in 2002, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) which emerged in 2012. Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans.

The COVID-19 is a new coronavirus, which initially affected people in Hubei Province, China. Smaller numbers of cases have been identified in several other countries. The World Health Organization has officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus ‘COVID-19’.

Patients may have fever, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath and other symptoms.In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress.

Coronavirus experts think that it’s likely that the COVID-19 originated in an animal species, and then spread to humans. Person to person spread of COVID-19 is occurring, but it is not yet understood how easily this happens.

Human coronavirus strains are spread from person to person through contaminated droplets from a person who is sick with the illness(through coughing or sneezing) or contaminated hands, and generally occurs between people who are in close contact with one another.

Is there any protection one can take?

• Make sure to clean your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub

• Cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or a flexed elbow

• Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.

Coronavirus and flu share many similar symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose without a test. The main coronavirus symptoms to look out for are fever and a cough. Flu often has other symptoms too, such as aching muscles and a sore throat, while people with coronavirus may feel short of breath.

There is very little evidence wearing face masks makes a difference. Experts say good hygiene — such as regularly washing your hands and certainly before putting them near your mouth — is vastly more effective.

The World Health Organization says the incubation period, which is the time before symptoms appear, ranges from two to 10 days.

Many of those who contract coronavirus will experience only mild symptoms and most people are expected to make a full recovery. However, it can pose a particular risk for elderly people and those with pre-existing problems such as diabetes or cancer, or weak immune systems. An expert at China’s National Health Commission has said it can take a week to recover from mild coronavirus symptoms.

There is no evidence this is a risk. Some diseases,including coronavirus, can spread through surfaces contaminated by people coughing or sneezing on them, but it is thought that the virus does not survive for long. Something that has been sent in the post is unlikely to be contaminated by the time it arrives at its destination.

If someone infected with the virus coughs on to their hand and then touches something, that surface may become contaminated. Door handles are a good example of a surface that might pose a risk.

It’s not yet known how long the new coronavirus might be able to live on such surfaces. Experts suspect it is hours rather than days. But it is best to wash your hands regularly to help reduce the risk of infection.

Some other viruses, such as flu, follow a seasonal pattern,peaking in colder months. There is some research suggesting Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) — another virus from the same family as coronavirus— is influenced by climate conditions, being slightly more common in warmer months.

Someone infected with coronavirus could potentially pass it on to someone else if the food they prepare has not been handled hygienically. Coronavirus can be spread by cough droplets on hands. Washing your hands before touching and eating food is good advice for anyone, to stop the spread of germs.

Large populations of Chinese people live in close proximity to animals. This coronavirus almost certainly came from an animal source — a bat — although this may not be the host that spread it to people. Sars, another coronavirus that originated in China, came from bats and the civet cat. The early cases of this new infection were traced to the South China Seafood Wholesale Market, where live wild animals were also sold, including chickens,bats and snakes.

At the moment, there is no vaccine that can protect people against this type of coronavirus but researchers are looking to develop one. It is a new strain that hasn’t been seen in humans before, which means doctors still have lots to learn about it.