Research Paper about Covid-19

Covid-19 is an infectious virus that was discovered in Wuhan, China in 2019. This was said to have originated from Bats, and then spread to humans. Covid-19 is caused by a virus called (SARS-CoV-2) which is a severe respiratory syndrome that has spread throughout the entire world rapidly causing millions of deaths. Bats are believed to be the reservoir of Covid-19 as it resides in them but it does not affect them. In the Covid-19 Virus as well as pneumonia, there are different serious infections as well as a severe acute respiratory syndrome that had been noticed in infected individuals. When the Covid-19 Virus first started in China, 82,267 cases and 4632 deaths had been reported. This was near the beginning of the pandemic, proving that the Covid-19 Virus is highly virulent. The replication of the Corona Virus has 2 steps. This is unusual in the sense that RNA viruses usually have only one open reading frame that would just code for a single polyprotein. The polyprotein for the Coronavirus is divided into smaller viral proteins so that the Coronavirus can hold ten different open reading frames. The biggest open reading frame that the coronavirus has is called replicas, which would mostly get translated by the ribosome.

Covid-19 contains no DNA and is non-segmented but it is enveloped. It is a single-stranded RNA virus that does not have a DNA stage. The surface of the Covid-19 virus contains Linear and Helical Capsids, but the nucleocapsid that is present in the virus envelope. The virus also contains spike proteins or RNA that is pleomorphic. The most prominent feature of the Covid-19 Virus is the spike projections that are on the surface of the virion. Some virulence factors include a very unique FCS and the that the virus can manipulate a host immune response. Its FCS is unique in the sense that it gets inserted with multi-basic amino acids which would occur at the Viral Spike Proteins intersection, which makes it unique in comparison to other Covid related viruses. The Covid-19 Virus can manipulate a host’s immune response in the sense that there is some Virus-Mediated Tricking that would be able to cause a dichotomous host immune response. This is a type of response of the immune system that is hyperactive, causing an inflammatory disease called a cytokine storm. This would have a negative effect on The T cell by dampening its antiviral mediated functions. The transmissibility of the Virus is very high as proven with its rapid spread across the World. The Covid-19 Virus is usually transmitted when people breathe in air that contains respiratory or liquid droplets on an infected individual. Based on different studies that have been conducted, the spread of the Covid-19 Virus is related to its being an absence of protection for the immune system after the first exposure to the previous vaccine or virus. The quickly spreading variant of Covid-19 does have immune avoidance. If a lot of immune avoidance is occurring with the virus, this would ultimately make herd immunity a more difficult process.  

It can take up to 2 weeks for symptoms to appear in a person. The virus would typically last for 7-14 days in mild cases, but in some cases, it can be over 6 weeks if a person has a more serious case of the Covid-19 Virus.  When an individual tests positive, they have to stay in quarantine in their homes, wear a mask if there are any other people in the household, and frequently wash their hands. The Virus started from Wuhan, China and has spread through all countries and territories within a relatively short span. 

The Covid-19 Virus has spread throughout over 219 countries and territories, infecting over 453 million people globally, as well as causing over 6.03 million deaths. The leading Country with the largest number of cases in the United States with over 79.4 million cases and over 964K deaths, with the second leading country being India, and the third would be Brazil. In Canada, there have been over 3.36 million cases and over 37,261 deaths. Covid-19 is highly virulent and spread across the globe at rapid rates causing millions of cases in just 2 years.

The more common symptoms of the Covid-19 Virus would include things such as fatigue, coughing, fevers, or the loss of smell and taste. More severe cases could include having difficulty breathing, chest pain, confusion, problems with mobility, or even speech loss. A few of the less common symptoms include things such as headaches, sore throats, eye irritation, skin rashes and diarrhea.

The Covid-19 virus can be contracted through respiratory or liquid droplets of an infected individual. This could include sneezing and coughing. Another possible way of contracting the virus would be coming into contact with an object that was used by an infected individual. This is one of the reasons why handwashing is an important preventative measure. The virus is more likely to be spread in events that involve crowding, any type of setting where close contact is involved, any confined area that contains inadequate ventilation. It could also be spread in any event where masks are not being worn, or where the proper hygiene measures are not being taken. These are some examples of human actions that could favour the transmission of the virus. Although the virus is primarily transmitted through respiratory and liquid droplets, there are other known routes of transmission. The Covid-19 Virus can live on different surfaces, which could allow transmission through fomites, but there is relatively limited evidence to suggest transmission can occur via fomites. Another example of a possible route of transmission would be through the ocular surface. This is thought to be possible, because of viral RNA that has been found on ocular surfaces, but again there is still relatively limited evidence to suggest that eye protection would be able to lower a person’s risk of becoming infected. A third example of a transmission route could be an intrauterine transmission. This does not happen very often, but there is evidence to suggest that this is possible. In an experiment, 16 articles were selected, there were 498 pregnant women. They were between 15-45 yrs of age, but they all had Covid-19. After they all had given birth, it was noted that approximately 4.88% of the infants had contracted Covid-19. A lot of these Covid-19 Transmission routes should be possible in theory but they have not been scientifically proven to be true.

A resolution to the outbreak would be getting vaccinated against the Covid-19 Virus. This is very important because it helps the immune system know how to fight the virus without contracting it. This has been a significant method involved in helping to keep the Covid-19 Virus under control across the entire globe. Multiple control measures are in place to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 Virus. One of them is the requirement of vaccine passports, which is enforced by a lot of businesses and organizations. This is something that would be very useful because people who are vaccinated against the virus will typically have a lower chance of contracting the virus, meaning that this control measure can help lower cases and keep the virus under control. Another control measure could include wearing masks. The reason for this is that the virus is spread through liquid droplets, which is why wearing a mask that covers the mouth and nose is important. It acts as a barrier between a person and the respiratory droplets of a potentially infected individual. Another important control measure is frequent hand washing. The reason for this would be that it would help prevent the spread of germs. If you came into contact with an infected individual, or even if you came into contact with an object handled by an infected individual, frequent handwashing could help prevent the spread of germs as well as the contraction of the virus.  A lot of elderly people and other individuals with compromised immune systems are more prone to contracting the Covid-19 Virus, which is another reason why frequent hand washing and proper hygiene are very important.

Another important control measure would be keeping hand sanitizer with you when you are out in public. The main reason for this is that hand sanitizer is the most effective infection control practice. Hand sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria and improves compliance with routine practices. It has been proven to be more useful than hand washing, as it can kill more germs. The important thing to remember when using hand sanitizer is that it is meant to be used on dry hands, as this would improve the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer.