- Season 1
- Episode 34
Doctor Explains What You Need to Know About The Coronavirus
Released on 01/31/2020
By now you've probably heard about
this new coronavirus epidemic that started in China
and spread to more than a dozen countries.
I'm declaring a public health emergency
of international concern
over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus.
This new coronavirus is part
of this massive family of viruses
that includes everything from SARS on one hand,
which is a deadly infection,
to the common cold, which is far from deadly.
Based on very early data,
we're seeing that infected people seem to have a fever,
a cough, and a viral pneumonia.
So a really bad chest infection.
It seems a little bit different
from what we saw with SARS back in 2002
where people were more likely to have a sore throat,
a runny nose, and diarrhea.
There's already evidence that this new coronavirus
does spread from person to person.
The interesting thing is it seems to be more infectious
than SARS and other coronavirus,
but less deadly.
So at the moment we think that the death rate
from the new coronavirus is around 2.5 to 3.5%.
For SARS, it was in the double digits.
It was at least 10 or 11%.
The incubation period for the new coronavirus
could be three to six days, some experts day,
but others say it could be as many as 14 days.
That number keeps changing as we get more information,
but here's one of the worrying things.
It looks like some people with this infection
were contagious even before
they had any symptoms themselves.
If that's true, that could make it trickier
to get a handle on the epidemic.
So what do you need to do to protect yourself?
The answer to that really depends on who you are
and where you are.
If you are in China,
you're gonna have to take different precautions
to if you live in the United States.
So far, the guidance for Americans is
practice good hand hygiene
'cause we're in the middle of flu season,
and you should get your flu shot
because flu kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.
And go to a credibly website, like cdc.gov,
or the WHO website,
and they will have travel guidance there for you
that's updated day by day.
This new epidemic is serious, but here's the thing.
As this new virus spreads,
so does misinformation about the virus,
as well as a spread of fear and panic.
If people get really scared during an epidemic,
one thing that they might do is
descend on their local hospitals,
using up resources and packing the place,
when really the doctors there need to focus
on the people who are seriously ill.
What you need during a public health crisis
is information and calm.
And it's very frustrating to see on social media
that there are so-called scientists,
some people who should know better,
really inciting panic and fear among the public.
There's misinformation spreading right now
about the new coronavirus outbreak.
Everything from people saying
that you should drink bleach to cure it.
Please do not ever, for any reason, drink bleach.
Something I thought I would never have to say.
But also really racist and xenophobic things are spreading.
Things like you shouldn't go to Chinatown
if you live in London.
That's absolutely ridiculous, it's racist nonsense.
This is not the first time that misinformation
and disinformation about an epidemic
has been spread on social media.
We saw this in 2014 to 2016
during the West African Ebola epidemic.
We saw all sorts of rumors then.
Things like if you eat raw onions or eat ground coffee
that that would cure the disease.
And not only was that not true,
but it can be really harmful if somebody's exposed to that
and they believe that more than they believe
a credible source.
Something that's blowing my mind right now
with this new coronavirus epidemic
is how quickly we are getting new information.
There's already a hospital in China
trying out new antiviral medicines.
There are already scientists in different parts of the world
working on various vaccines for this coronavirus.
It would be amazing if one of the experimental vaccines
became available during this epidemic,
but that's not really likely,
just based on history and how long it can take
to develop a vaccine and check it in animals
and check it for safety in humans.
But it is still astonishing just how quickly
we're making progress.
You compare that to previous epidemics we've had
of new infections,
we've been way behind before.
And so with this outbreak I'm really keeping a close eye
on how different authorities from different countries
are working with each other.
Because you can't deal with an epidemic
as if it's just one country's problem.
Nowadays an epidemic anywhere is a threat everywhere.
The way that this might end
is that the infection just peters out.
We get a handle on the epidemic,
we find the people who are sick,
and we also find their close contacts
to make sure that they don't go on
and pass the infection to others.
It's a troubling outbreak,
but it's something that we are expecting.
In the public health world,
we're always looking out for the next new virus,
the next big epidemic.
And what we're seeing with this epidemic is
public health systems are gearing up
and they are going into action as they are prepared to.
What you should to stay safe is stay on top of the news,
look for credible sources, do not believe the BS,
and be prepared but do not panic
and do not let anyone else make you feel panicked.
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