The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do

In December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the world that a virus was spreading through their communities. In the following months, it spread to other countries and cases doubled in a matter of days. This virus is

coronavirus

2 related to severe acute respiratory syndrome that causes the disease called Covid-19 and which everyone simply calls

coronavirus

. What really happens when you infect a person and

what

should

we all do? A virus is really just a shell around genetic material and some proteins, probably not even a living thing. It can only produce more of itself by entering a living cell. The coronavirus can spread through surfaces, but it is not yet known how long it can survive on them.

The main way it spreads appears to be droplet infection when people cough, or if you touch someone who is sick and then touch your face, for example rubbing your eyes or nose. The virus begins its journey here and then stows away deeper into the body. Its destinations are the intestines, spleen or lungs, where it can have the most spectacular effect. Even a few corona viruses can cause a quite dramatic situation. The lungs are lined by billions of epithelial cells. These are the peripheral cells of your body, lining your organs and mucous membranes waiting to be infected.

Corona binds to a specific receptor on its victim's membranes to inject its genetic material. The cell, unaware of

what

is happening, executes the new instructions, which are quite simple: copy and reassemble. It fills with more and more copies of the original virus until it reaches a critical point and receives a final order: self-destruct. The cell melts and releases new corona particles ready to attack more cells. The number of infected cells grows exponentially. After about 10 days, millions of cells in the body became infected and billions of viruses invaded the lungs. The virus hasn't done too much damage yet, but corona is now going to unleash a real beast on you: your own immune system.

The immune system, while there to protect you, can actually be quite dangerous to you and needs strict regulation. And while immune cells flood the lungs to fight the virus, Corona infects some of them and creates confusion. Cells do not have ears or eyes. They mainly communicate through small messenger proteins called cytokines. Almost all important immune responses are controlled by them. Corona causes infected immune cells to overreact and scream bloody murder. In a sense, it puts the immune system into a battle frenzy and sends out many more soldiers than it

should

, wasting its resources and causing damage.

Two cell types in particular wreak havoc. First, neutrophils, which are good at killing things, including our cells. As they arrive by the thousands, they begin pumping out enzymes that destroy friend and foe alike. The other major type of cells that go into a frenzy are killer T cells, which normally command infected cells to commit suicide in a controlled manner. No matter how confused they are, they begin to order healthy cells to commit suicide as well. The more immune cells they reach, the more damage they cause and the more healthy lung tissue they kill. It can be so severe that it can cause permanent, irreversible damage and lead to lifelong disabilities.

In most cases, the immune system slowly regains control. Kill infected cells, intercept viruses trying to infect new ones, and clear the battlefield. Recovery begins. Most people infected by Corona will overcome it with relatively mild symptoms. But many cases become serious or even critical. We don't know the percentage because not all cases have been identified, but it's safe to say there are many more than with the flu. In the most severe cases, millions of epithelial cells have died and with them the protective lining of the lungs disappears. This means that the alveoli, small air sacs through which you breathe, can become infected with bacteria, which is usually not a big problem.

Patients get pneumonia. Breathing becomes difficult or even fails, and patients need ventilators to survive. The immune system fought at full capacity for weeks, manufacturing millions of antiviral weapons. And as thousands of bacteria multiply rapidly, you become overwhelmed. They enter the blood and overwhelm the body; If this happens, you will most likely die. The Corona virus is often compared to the flu, but it is actually much more dangerous. While it is difficult to determine the exact mortality rate during an ongoing pandemic, we know for sure that it is much more contagious and spreads faster than the flu.

There are two futures for a pandemic like the coronavirus: fast and slow. What future we see will depend on how we all respond to it in the early days of the outbreak. A rapid pandemic will be horrible and cost many lives; The history books will not remember a slow pandemic. The worst case for a rapid pandemic starts with a very rapid infection rate because there are no countermeasures to slow it down. Why is it so bad? In a rapidly moving pandemic, many people get sick at the same time. If the numbers become too large, health systems become unable to handle them.

There are not enough resources left, such as medical staff or equipment like ventilators, to help everyone. People will die if they do not receive treatment. And as more health care workers get sick, the capacity of health systems falls even further. If that happens, terrible decisions will have to be made about who can live and who can't. In such a scenario, the number of deaths increases significantly. To prevent this, the world - that is, all of us - must do everything possible to turn it into a slow-moving pandemic. A pandemic is stopped with the appropriate responses. Especially in the initial phase, so that everyone who gets sick can receive treatment and there are no obstacles with overwhelmed hospitals.

Since we don't have a vaccine for Corona, we have to socially design our behavior to act as a social vaccine. It simply means two things: 1. Not being infected; and 2. Do not infect others. Although it may seem trivial, the best thing you can do is wash your hands. Soap is actually a powerful tool. The corona virus is wrapped in what is basically a layer of fat; Soap breaks down that grease and prevents it from infecting you. It also softens the hands and, with the mechanical movements of washing, viruses are eliminated. To do it correctly, wash your hands as if you just cut up some jalapenos and are about to insert your contact lenses.

Next is social distancing, which is not a pleasant experience, but it is a nice thing to do. This means: no hugs or handshakes. If you can stay home, stay home to protect those who need to be out for society to function: from doctors to cashiers to police officers. You depend on all of them; everyone depends on you not to get sick. On a broader level, there are quarantines, which can mean different things, from travel restrictions to actual stay-at-home orders. Quarantines are not pleasant to live with and they are certainly not popular. But they give us, and especially researchers working on drugs and vaccines, crucial time.

So if you are quarantined, you should understand why and respect it. None of this is fun. But if we look at the bigger picture, it's a very small price to pay. The question of how pandemics end depends on how they begin; If they start fast on a steep slope, they end badly. If they start slowly, with a not so steep slope, they finish well. And today, it really is in all of our hands. Literally and figuratively. A big thank you to the experts who helped us at short notice with this video, especially Our World In Data, the online publication for research and data on the world's biggest problems and how to move forward to solve them.

Visit their website. It also contains a constantly updated page on the Corona pandemic.