HJBR Mar/Apr 2020

34 MAR / APR 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE DIALOGUE COLUMN CONSULTANT’S CORNER ACoV usually originates in animal hosts. The danger of a CoV is if it can be transferred from person to person. In the case of the current novel coronavirus, China’s national health commission has confirmed CoVID-19 is human-to-human transmission. The Chi- nese believe that Wuhan, China’s wholesale market (the center of the city), where live, and newly slaughtered animals are sold, is the origin of this virus. The CoVID-19 was then transferred to humans. CoVID-19 common signs and symptoms are like all colds or flu: symptoms such as fever and cough. The infected person then develops difficulty breathing. The virus can cause pneumonia in some, but not all people. The virus causes viral pneumonia, for which antibiotics are of no use. Antiviral drugs are used if the disease is caught early, whichmay lessen the progression. If hospitalized, pa- tients may get help with IV fluids, and lung support, such as respiratory therapy and ventilators. In severe cases, there can be or- gan failure. If organ failure occurs, dialysis is an option. Let’s talk about the Coronaviruses Coronaviruses (CoV) have been present for a long time. The CoV consist of a large family of viruses from the common cold to severe respiratory viruses. The two CoV you may have heard about are the Middle Eastern re- spiratory syndrome (Mers-CoV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars-Cov). The current novel coronavirus is called CoV- ID-19; the name was given to it on February 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is now using a number to represent Coronaviruses. WHO will not make a reference to places, origin, or people, to avoid stigma of this novel coronavirus.