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Human Coronavirus Facts

Human Coronavirus Facts
Coronaviruses are the viruses believed to cause most of the common colds that occur in adult humans, most often in the early spring and the winter. They belong to the Coronaviridae family and the Coronavirinae subfamily. Human coronaviruses usually result in an upper respiratory tract illness that can appear as a mild to moderate common cold. Human coronaviruses were identified in the 1960s and the six known to affect humans include alpha coronavirus 229E, alpha coronavirus NL63, beta coronavirus OC43, beta coronavirus HKU1, beta coronavirus SARS-CoV (SARS), and beta coronavirus MERS-CoV (Mers). Only two coronaviruses are known to affect humans and animals and these include SARS and MERS.
Interesting Human Coronavirus Facts:
The most common coronaviruses affecting people around the world are coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1. SARS and MERS are less common.
It is believed that everyone is infected with a coronavirus at one point in their life. Many people have more than one during their life.
Children are more easily infected with a coronavirus.
It is believed that coronaviruses are spread through sneezing and coughing and contact involving touching such as handshakes.
It is also believed that coronaviruses can be spread by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Reducing the chances of contracting a coronavirus includes washing hands with soap and water frequently and after touching surfaces that might be contaminated.
It is recommended that people avoid touching their mouth, eyes, or nose unless they have thoroughly washed their hands, especially during cold season.
It is also possible to reduce the risk of contracting a coronavirus by avoiding contact with people who are already showing symptoms of being ill.
Once an individual becomes sick with a coronavirus such as a cold, they should avoid close contact with others by staying home, covering their nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing, and disinfect surfaces after touching them.
Human coronaviruses are common and there is no specific treatment for them other than alleviating symptoms.
The most common symptoms of coronaviruses include a cough, sore throat, fever, runny nose, and in some cases the symptoms develop into pneumonia.
Treatment for mild cases of coronaviruses includes fever or pain medication (young children should never be given Aspirin), hot showers for coughs and sore throat, room humidifier, drinking lots of fluids, and getting a lot of rest.
SARS is a severe form of a coronavirus that can result in a death rate as high at 10% in those infected. The SARS outbreak in 2003 resulted in more than 8,000 infections and approximately 800 deaths worldwide.
Up until the discovery of SARS there were only two known human coronaviruses - 229E and OC43. Since the discovery of SARS there have been three more discovered including HKU1, NL63, and MERS.
MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) was identified in 2012 and by 2013 there were 124 cases identified in Saudi Arabia, resulting in 52 deaths. Another outbreak of MERS occurred in 2015 when an infected man traveled to four different hospitals in Seoul for treatment of symptoms.


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