My research NOTES thus far.
This is a coronavirus and so it falls in to the common cold category for research.
The contagion factor or Ro is around 2.6+.
SARS and MERS both killed less than 1,000, and this virus is similar.
WEBMD SAYS
Cold viruses have a lot in common, but each type has its own style, too.
More than 200 types (of cold viruses) lead to your misery, but the most common one is the rhinovirus, which is thought to be responsible for at least 50% of colds. Other viruses that can cause colds include coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and parainfluenza.
Rhinovirus. This bunch is most active in early fall, spring, and summer. They cause 10%-40% of colds. You'll feel plenty miserable when you catch one, but the good news is they rarely make you seriously sick.
Coronavirus. These tend to do their dirty work in the winter and early spring. The coronavirus is the cause of about 20% of colds. There are more than 30 kinds, but only three or four affect people.
RSV and parainfluenza. These viruses cause 20% of colds. They sometimes lead to severe infections, like pneumonia, in young children.
Americans have 1 billion colds a year.
CDC SAYS
You can help reduce your risk of getting a cold:
Wash your hands often with soap and water. Wash them for 20 seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Viruses that cause colds can live on your hands, and regular handwashing can help protect you from getting sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Viruses that cause colds can enter your body this way and make you sick
Stay away from people who are sick. Sick people can spread viruses that cause the common cold through close contact with others.
Stay at home while you are sick and keep children out of school or daycare while they are sick.
Avoid close contact with others, such as hugging, kissing, or shaking hands.
Move away from people before coughing or sneezing.
Cough and sneeze into a tissue then throw it away, or cough and sneeze into your upper shirt sleeve, completely covering your mouth and nose.
Wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose.
Disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects, such as toys and doorknobs.
There is no vaccine to protect you against the common cold.
Antibiotics will not help you recover from a cold caused by a respiratory virus. They do not work against viruses, and they may make it harder for your body to fight future bacterial infections if you take them unnecessarily.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU CAN DO? YES!
Zinc for Colds: Lozenges and Nasal Sprays?
- Zinc is an essential mineral that's found in almost every cell, and it helps your body resist infection. It also plays an important part in tissue repair. And it may lower the ability of cold viruses to grow on or bind to the lining of your nose.
- It also appeared to prevent colds in people who used it over the course of about 5 months.
- Experts recommend that you not take zinc for more than 5 days. Long-term use -- more than 6 weeks -- can lead to copper deficiency but this can be overcome by taking almost any multivitamin.
Extracts of echinacea do seem to have an effect on the immune system, your body's defense against germs. Research shows it increases the number of white blood cells, which fight infections. A review of more than a dozen studies, published in 2014, found the herbal remedy had a very slight benefit in preventing colds.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/worl ... virus.html
Experts are preparing for an outbreak that could last months.
Dr. Gauden Galea, the representative of the World Health Organization in Beijing, said in an interview on Friday that while much was uncertain, health officials were preparing for an outbreak that could last for months. He said that eventually thousands of people would most likely be infected, citing models produced by public health experts.
Masks may help, but experts say it’s more important to wash your hands.
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, chairwoman of the public health committee for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said surgical masks are really “the last line of defense.”
“We worry about people feeling they’re getting more protection from the mask than they really are,” she said. “Washing your hands and avoiding people who are ill is way more important than wearing a mask.”
Because surgical masks aren’t fitted or sealed, they leave gaps around the mouth, “so you’re not filtering all of the air that comes in,” she said.
The masks will, however, block most large respiratory droplets from other people’s sneezes and coughs from entering your mouth and nose, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Coronaviruses are primarily spread through droplets, he said.
The bigger problem is that people don’t use the masks properly. “Most people will put their hand underneath the mask to scratch their face or rub their nose,” bringing contaminants in contact with the nose and mouth, said Dr. Adalja. “You can’t take it off when you get a phone call.”
Dr. Mark Loeb, an infectious disease specialist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said a study during an outbreak of the SARS coronavirus found that any type of protection — whether a mask or a respirator — reduced the risk of infections in health care workers by about 85 percent.
“The most important message was that the risk was lower if they consistently used any mask,” he said.
But washing hands — frequently and before eating — is universally recommended. Hand sanitizer is effective against respiratory viruses.
