The latest information about the novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China, and advice on how pharmacists can help concerned patients and therefore the public.
A novel strain of coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, a city in China’s Hubei province with a population of 11 million, after an epidemic of pneumonia without a clear cause. The virus has now spread to over 200 countries and territories across the world , and was characterised as an epidemic by the planet Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.
As of 4 January 2021, there have been 83,322,449 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection globally, with 1,831,412 reported deaths. the amount of cases and deaths outside of China overtook those within the country on 16 March 2020.
As of 4 January 2021, there are 2,654,779 confirmed cases of the virus within the UK and 75,024 of those have died (in all settings, within 28 days of the test).
This article gives a quick overview of the new virus and what to seem out for, and can be updated weekly. It provides answers to the subsequent questions:
What are coronaviruses?
There has been tons of talk within the news and on social media about how certain medications can exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19, what's the present advice around these medications?
Where am i able to find information on managing COVID-19 patients?
Is the coronavirus pandemic likely to precipitate medicines shortages?
Are there national clinical trials of potential drugs to treat COVID-19?
Is there a vaccine for COVID-19 and, if so, will pharmacy staff be involved in its roll out?
What are coronaviruses?
SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a family of single-stranded RNA viruses referred to as coronaviridae, a standard sort of virus which affects mammals, birds and reptiles.
In humans, it commonly causes mild infections, almost like the cold , and accounts for 10–30% of upper tract infections in adults. More serious infections are rare, although coronaviruses can cause enteric and nervous disorder . The time period of a coronavirus varies but is usually up to 2 weeks.
Previous coronavirus outbreaks include Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), first reported in Saudi Arabia in September 2012, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), identified in southern China in 2003. MERS infected around 2,500 people and led to quite 850 deaths while SARS infected quite 8,000 people and resulted in nearly 800 deaths. The case fatality rates for these conditions were 35% and 10%, respectively.
SARS-CoV-2 may be a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. Although the time period of this strain is currently unknown, the us Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that symptoms may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure. Chinese researchers have indicated that SARS-CoV-2 could also be infectious during its time period .