The 20/20 on COVID-19
In my STEAM course called Disease we recently finished our third unit called “World”. In this unit we focused on the spread of diseases. We studied the different classifications of diseases. We focused on the different aspects that are considered when a disease is affecting a community. We studied how epidemics affect the world. We also learned different key concepts epidemiologists use regarding the spread of diseases. For this AP we were instructed to pick a disease of our interest. We then had to study a particular outbreak of this disease from the past. The purpose of this project is to create a newspaper article that informs readers about the outbreak we chose. The article explains what caused the outbreak, how the outbreak was controlled, and what we can do to avoid an outbreak like it from happening again. This AP led me to learn a lot about disease that is current in our world today, COVID-19. Currently we are facing a pandemic. I found it really interesting that I had the opportunity to learn more about outbreaks of diseases in the past and how that is effecting our current day pandemic.
CH. News. (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Officials first identified the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The WHO (World Health Organization) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30th, and declared a pandemic on March 11th. As of June 6th, 2020, more than 6.8 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than in about 188 countries and territories, resulting in more than 362,000 deaths; more than 2.78 million people have recovered.
Now, what does that all mean?
COVID-19 Explained:
SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that target and affect mammals respiratory systems. In the past only two coronaviruses have cause global outbreaks. The first was the SARS coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome, which started spreading in China in 2002. The other was the MERS coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome, which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The first case of COVID-19 was reported to WHO on December 31st, 2019 as pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China. The virus is concentrated in the nose and lungs of a person and can pass the virus to another person via droplets from their nose or mouth.Pratyeka. "Confirmed Cases Map." Wikimedia Commons, 2020.
When humans contract a coronavirus, it usually happens due to an infected animal. One of the most common carriers are bats. Although they do not typically transmit coronaviruses directly to humans, instead the virus came from a zoonotic source where it was transferred from one animal into an animal commonly handled by humans. Once in that second animal, the virus can then easily transfer over to humans. In the case of COVID-19, initial reports from China tied the outbreak to an open seafood market in central Wuhan. As a result, the authorities closed down the market on January 1, 2020.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "Vaccine Development." Bio, 2018-2020.
Sources Cited:
Beech, Peter. “What Is COVID-19's R Number – and Why Does It Matter?” World Economic Forum, 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/covid-19-what-is-the-r-number/.Begley, Sharon, et al. “Covid-19's Future: Small Outbreaks, Monster Wave, or Ongoing Crisis.” STAT, 5 May 2020, www.statnews.com/2020/05/01/three-potential-futures-for-covid-19/.
“Biotech Companies Respond to Coronavirus (COVID-19).” Bio, 2020, www.bio.org/policy/human-health/vaccines-biodefense/coronavirus.
Cohut, Maria. “Novel Coronavirus: What We Know so Far.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 2020, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/novel-coronavirus-your-questions-answered#1.-What-is-the-new-virus?
Diamond, Frank, et al. “WHO Labels COVID-19 a Pandemic.” Infection Control Today, 11 Mar. 2020, www.infectioncontroltoday.com/covid-19/who-labels-covid-19-pandemic.
“Q&A On Coronaviruses (COVID-19).” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 2020, www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses.
Romero-Severson,, Ethan, et al. “Early Release - High Contagiousness and Rapid Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 - Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal .” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0282_article.
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