Why Nigerians should not panic yet about Coronavirus

-By Chinedu J. Onunkwo (B.Pharm)

Ebola now seems a distant news, but with the recent hysteria about coronavirus, one cannot but have a déjà vu. The event of one Sawyer, a Liberian entering Nigeria ill with the ebola disease is still vivid. I have already talked about this event in an earlier article on danger of salt intake. Unfortunately, similar hoopla is here; another virus is in town and interestingly, Lagos in still the port of entry, this time from an Italian. Many Nigerians are understandably worried, mostly from their doubt of the government having the resources to contain what many now fear might become pandemic. Nevertheless, World Health Organisation is not being deceitful by calming nerves. Though there is now a total of 83, 877 cases in the world and 2, 867 deaths with majority of this figure in China alone, the viral infection is not out of control. China has done a great work in containing it mostly in that part of the world through proactive measures including stringent surveillance. The world is not leaving the work to China alone. All hands are on deck.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). There is also a new strain that is recently identified in humans, now known as novel coronavirus (nCoV). The viruses can be transmitted from animals. At least, it has been proved that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. There might still be some strains of the virus yet to be transmitted to humans. It causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). For context sake, the virus that causes COVID-19 and the one that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are related to each other genetically, but they are different. SARS is actually deadlier, though it is less infectious than COVID-19.

It takes about 1-14 days for COVID-19 to manifest after infection. Common signs to look out for include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Standard recommendations from WHO to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing is a good prevention technique. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person and can persist for hours. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick. Studies to date suggest that the virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets rather than through the air. The main way the disease spreads is through respiratory droplets expelled by someone who is coughing. The risk of catching COVID-19 from someone with no symptoms at all is very low. However, many people with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. This is particularly true at the early stages of the disease. It is therefore possible to catch COVID-19 from someone who has, for example, just a mild cough and does not feel ill. The risk of catching COVID-19 from the feces of an infected person appears to be low. While initial investigations suggest the virus may be present in feces in some cases, spread through this route is not a main feature of the outbreak. Because this is a risk, however, it is another reason to clean hands regularly, after using the bathroom and before eating. It is also important to note that older persons and persons with pre-existing medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes) appear to develop serious illness more often than others.

However, this does not call for panic. Nigeria might lack the financial resources in the tune possessed by America and China, but our earlier experience with similar diseases as ebola and lassa fever is a pointer that Nigeria can contain this virus. What more, there is not yet a huge need for concern as rate of infection is still very low and even less than 1% for people leaving outside endemic areas like Asia. We do hope the Federal Ministry of Health increase it surveillance around our borders and other entry points!