The epidemic of new coronavirus pneumonia is continuing. What is a new coronavirus? What are the symptoms after infection? How should the public protect themselves during the Spring Festival outing?

1. What is a coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a kind of virus widely existing in nature. The morphology of the virus is similar to that of the crown when observed under the electron microscope. So far it has been found that coronavirus only infects vertebrates and can cause respiratory and digestive tract and nervous system diseases in humans and animals.

2. What is a new coronavirus?

The new coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus that has never been found in humans before. The World Health Organization has named the new coronavirus found this time as "2019-nCoV", which is the 2019 new coronavirus.

In addition to new coronaviruses, there are 6 known coronaviruses that infect humans, 4 of which are more common in the population and have lower pathogenicity, generally causing only mild respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold; the other 2 are well known to us SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus.

3. What are the characteristics of the clinical manifestations of this infected patient?

General symptoms: fever, fatigue, dry cough, dyspnea gradually; some patients have mild symptoms, but no fever

Severe cases: acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, metabolic acidosis that is difficult to correct, coagulopathy

Most patients are moderate to mild, with a good prognosis, and a few patients are critically ill or even die.

4. As of now, have you found any cases of person-to-person transmission?

The existing survey results show that there is no clear evidence of person-to-person transmission, and the possibility of limited person-to-person transmission cannot be ruled out, but the risk of continuing person-to-person transmission is low. At present, further research is being conducted in combination with clinical and epidemiological data.

5. Is there a vaccine against the new coronavirus?

There are no vaccines available for new diseases. It may take several years to develop a new vaccine.

6. Can the new coronavirus be treated?

There is currently no specific treatment for diseases caused by new coronaviruses. However, many symptoms can be managed, so it needs to be treated according to the patient's clinical situation. In addition, auxiliary care for infected persons may be very effective.

7. How to protect yourself?

Wash your hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer containing alcohol; cover your mouth and nose with tissues or elbows when coughing and sneezing; avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold or flu-like symptoms; cook meat and eggs thoroughly ; Avoid contact with wild or farmed animals without protection.

Purchase in the fresh market, wash hands with soap and water after contacting animals and animal products; avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth; avoid contact with sick animals and spoiled meat; avoid contact with stray animals and waste water in the market.

In addition, it is currently in the season of high incidence of infectious diseases in winter and spring. It is necessary to strengthen exercise, work regularly, improve self-immunity; pay attention to maintaining indoor air circulation, avoid going to closed and non-ventilated public places and crowded places, and wear it if necessary Masks; wash hands and nose after going home. If you have fever and other respiratory tract infection symptoms, especially if the fever persists, go to a medical institution in time.

The data is compiled from the official website of the World Health Organization and Hubei Health and Health Commission