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The coronavirus is slowly becoming a big concern all over the world as thousands of people in China are now infected, with cases popping up in other countries. Despite the scare it has brought onto people, a virus expert reveals that scientists everywhere are making progress in the analysis of the virus.
Express reports that scientists are doubling down their efforts into further studying the virus to be able to develop a cure, and so far, there has been some progress, according to Dr. Krzysztof Pyrc from Jagellonian University in Poland. Dr. Pyrc praised the efforts of scientists, who have managed to act fast as a response to the rampant disease. Speaking to the Polish Press Agency, Dr. Pyrc said, “The pace of research in the face of danger is impressive. Only a few weeks have passed since the first infections, and we already know how the virus is built and what its genome looks like.” Dr. Pryc added that they now have an initial characterization of the disease.
This coronavirus belongs to the family of viruses, including the pandemic known as SARS. During the time that SARS was rampant, it took scientists months to properly identify and learn how to kill the virus, developing a cure as a result. Now, the amount of time that the scientists took in properly learning about the virus was only a fraction compared to back then.
Dr. Pyrc revealed that laboratories everywhere in the world are already trying to synthesize a cure for the virus. At best, the virus may be killed with drugs and vaccines that are already existing.
Meanwhile, people in the countries that are now affected by the coronavirus are becoming extra careful so as to avoid infection. But the more the virus spreads, the affected countries are having more difficulty in trying to contain the virus, including China themselves, where local authorities have been trying to lock down certain areas to prevent further transmission.
Other countries are doing the most they can, while their cases are more isolated. According to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization, there have been no deaths outside China from the virus. Due to the increasing number of cases due to human-to-human transmission, Dr. Ghebreyesus announced that they would hold an emergency meeting to deliberate on whether to call the coronavirus a global emergency.
