Background study
The Covid-19 pandemic had been reportedly caused by the infection of a member of the Coronavirus family named SARS-COV-2. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are considered as a family of viruses that are responsible for causing respiratory diseases in human beings with symptoms commonly being common flu to serious conditions such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and these two illnesses have to lead to increasing the rate of mortality in the year 2003 and 2012 (Acc.org, 2020). Since the emergence of Covid-19 infected virus strain and until 7th of March when the
cases were finally known to the whole world and by that time the number of cases of death caused was 3488. By that time, the cases along China were 3072, 197 in Italy, 124 in Iran, 44 in South Korea, 14 in the USA, and in single digits in some other countries around the world (Who. int, 2020). This was mainly due to the negligence of the Chinese government to effectively report about the intensity of the disease to cause death and serious illness and hence the worldwide transport was not stopped until then.
Introduction
SARS-CoV-2 is a kind of virus that is responsible for infecting human beings in the year 2019 by the coronavirus and was originally accustomed in the year 2002 and 2012 and eventually returned last year (Who. int, 2020). This study is to reflects the role of an agent of SARS Coronavirus in infecting the human being and host involved in the targeting of the virus for disease infection. The methods of disease infection and proposal of government policies with regards to its prevention are termed. The epidemiology of the diseases is discussed along with the study.
Epidemiology
It has been found that all the samples of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from human cells have a close genetic connection with the Coronavirus strain that had been isolated from the genus Rhinolophus in bats and the first case that had been generated from this type of infecting viruses was in Wuhan, China in December 2019 (Liu et al. 2020). Also, the structures of the genetic sequences of these strains also matched to a great extent from the SARS and MERS disease-causing Coronavirus long back in the years 2003 and 2012, respectively. It has been stated that the SARS-CoV-2 had quite well adapted to the receptors of human cells that can easily invade the human cells and infect people (Covid19worldtracker.com, 2020).
Role of agent
This agent is a positive-sense-single-stranded RNA virus which since its recent evolution after 2013, it has been known as the novel Corona Virus (2019- nCoV). The name of the full form of SARS-Sov-2 agent was first introduced in the year 2011, whereas the World health organization has restated the name 2019-nCOV acute respiratory disease occurring in the year 2019 or Covid-19 (Ferioli et al. 2020). The agent had caused the symptoms to arise within the infected patients in the form of fever, cough, or shortness of breath. The symptoms caused by this agent are deemed to appear between 2 to 14 days after being exposed to this virus strain by the human being (Who. int, 2020). The coronaviruses had initially infected civet cats which further infected humans in the year 2002 with SARS diseases infection. After that, MERS-CoV was identified within dromedary camels and from consumption or being exposed to these animals’ touch, the humans got infected and then further infected other human beings in the year 2012 (Acc.org, 2020). These categories of viruses were termed the zoonotic viruses as they were transferred from
animal to human and the first transmission of the SARS or MERS strain of CoV event was termed as spillover event. It has been found that the SARS-CoV-2 was considered as a genetically recombinant virus that confiscated mutation which reached from person to person at the time of its infection in the year 2019 (Ferioli et al. 2020).
Host Factors
The key passage of virus transmission is through the respiratory tract. It can be by various kinds of contact such as direct, sexual, fecal, oral and through blood-borne infection (Sun et al. 2020). However, these aspects have not been specified in the case of breastfeeding from the human mother to her baby and neither during pregnancy. Ventilation and proximity pave way for the host factors to implicate the spread of Covid-19 as per the recent research reports because the virus size is extremely small and can possibly transmit from the air (Xiao et al. 2020). The host cells can be the glycol-proteins and especially the SARS-COV-2 that bear
D614G mutation can speed up the process of transmission intensity between individuals.
Environmental factors
The environment can highly affect the stability of the novel-Covid within the mucus and sputum of the human nasal passage sample. It has been researched about various reasons that could affect the outbreak of the virus post-pandemic period and found that the weather also favors the transmission of diseases spread along with the human beings (Sanchez et al. 2020). The SARS-Cov-2 had been tested for determination of the impact of environmental factors on the
spread and transmission of it. An article written by Meyerowitz et al. (2020), to identify the role of environmental viability of the virus causative agent, was about the method of transmission of SARS-COV-2 with its review on the host and environmental factor. The viable virus had first been isolated for 3 hours from air particles and up to 72 hours from any surfaces. It was found that the virus was quite stable at lesser temperatures but was found sensitive towards heat. The virus was detected to be inactivated when exposed to temperatures above degrees centigrade with up to 5 minutes kept at that temperature; also disinfectants prevented
the growth of SARS-COV-2 culture. It had been found that SARS-COV-2 was less stable in times of high humidity and the temperatures being high (Who. int, 2020). This disease is considered as a major public health concern that can be sustained in a proper way.
Risk factors
The susceptibility of risk factors that are attained due to the virus spread and its infection is that it increases with age. The age groups that are mostly affected by the SARS-COV-2 agent are above 65 years or more (Zhu et al. 2020). Older people have low immunity which enables their body system to fight less from the infection of the causative agent. Inflammation or open wounds when accustomed to contact from the virus-infected person can catch up the infection and that can be further moved towards the lungs (Sun et al. 2020). Low functioning of lungs can incur pneumonia infections for the coronavirus to spread faster as
the air passage would have less elasticity in the lungs. People having chronic lung illness or immune-compromised individuals are also prone to cause infection as the capability to form antibodies against the virus infection will be less (Liu et al. 2020). Other types of people with lung disease, diabetes, CKD, obesity and heart disease can also be possibly the individuals to be mostly infected by the agent SARS-COV-2.
Potential policy responses for prevention of the spread of Virus infection
There are several policies and procedures of guidelines proposed by the world health organization to handle the spread of infection from the disease agent SARS-COV-2 (Who. int, 2020). The policy of environmental cleaning and disinfection policy proposed was to ensure that the non-healthcare settings and commercial places of the states and cities have to be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly. The spread of infection protocol during transfer and healthcare of patients with Covid-19 was to ensure that the wearing of necessary equipment is necessary for infection protection (Kff.org, 2020). The WHO had proposed certain
guidelines for the risk factors of virus spread to be prevented, such as wearing masks, PPE equipment, hand gloves, and regular use of alcohol-based hand rub and washing hands before and after touching any suspected person that might be infected. The policy of New Zealand was known as the ‘New Zealand Elimination Strategy’ which was supposed as one of the best approaches towards handling the prevention and acquisition of the covid-19 virus. They started fast detection and fast isolation technique of the cases of individuals and they also attempted to derive various medical treatments for treating the patients with the necessary intervention approach (Who. int, 2020). These guidelines can supposedly prevent the SARS-COV-2 agent to spread along from person to person and also the organization has proposed awareness campaigns through online and offline mode so that the healthcare facilities and the unaware individuals can be known about the way to protect themselves. The methods to use and wear masks and PPE kits and the interval at which hand should be washed is to be specified (Sanchez, 2020).
Recommendation and Conclusion
There is a need for individuals to protect themselves from further infection. It can be known that wearing masks and necessary equipment can protect themselves from virus-infected individuals. Community transmission can be prevented by keeping the areas clean and following the protocols of social distancing between individuals. Overcrowding shall be lessened as overpopulated places can cause individuals to cause the infection to spread (Nishiura et al. 2020). The study proposes a detailed analysis of the SARS-COV-2, which is the causative agent of Covid-19, and the background and epidemiology for the disease are provided. The way of the host factors, environmental factors, risk factors are associated are derived with possible information. The possible guidelines for the prevention and spread of disease in the policy responses are derived.
Reference list
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