In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended 2019-nCoV and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 guidance and international guidelines against using geographical locations or groups of people in disease and virus names to prevent social stigma. In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as the Spanish flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome, and Zika virus. Management involves the treatment of symptoms through supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.ĭuring the initial outbreak in Wuhan, the virus and disease were commonly referred to as 'coronavirus' and 'Wuhan coronavirus', with the disease sometimes called 'Wuhan pneumonia'. While work is underway to develop drugs that inhibit the virus, the primary treatment is symptomatic. Other preventive measures include physical or social distancing, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, use of face masks or coverings in public, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. Testing methods for COVID-19 to detect the virus's nucleic acid include real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR), transcription-mediated amplification, and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT‑LAMP) from a nasopharyngeal swab. People remain contagious for up to 20 days and can spread the virus even if they do not develop symptoms. Transmission can also occur when people touch their eyes, nose or mouth after touching surfaces or objects that have been contaminated by the virus. The risk is highest when people are in close proximity, but small airborne particles containing the virus can remain suspended in the air and travel over longer distances, particularly indoors. ĬOVID‑19 transmits when infectious particles are breathed in or come into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth. Multi-year studies are underway to further investigate the long-term effects of the disease.

Some people continue to experience a range of effects ( long COVID) for months or years after infection, and damage to organs has been observed.

Older people are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. Of those who develop symptoms noticeable enough to be classified as patients, most (81%) develop mild to moderate symptoms (up to mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms ( dyspnea, hypoxia, or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging), and 5% develop critical symptoms ( respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction). At least a third of people who are infected do not develop noticeable symptoms. Symptoms may begin one to fourteen days after exposure to the virus. The symptoms of COVID‑19 are variable but often include fever, cough, headache, fatigue, breathing difficulties, loss of smell, and loss of taste.

The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2.

Corona meaning in mexico