There are viruses that make one sick and there are viruses that put people in the hospital and then there are viruses that tend to put people in the grave and the coronavirus is one of the latter and it’s raising alarms worldwide, including here in the United States.

The current coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started in an animal market in Wuhan, a city in central China. The virus is extremely virulent and highly contagious and as far as the World Heath Organization knows, it has already killed at least 17 people and hospitalized hundreds more in a growing number of countries, including several confirmed cases here in the United States. Wuhan and other surrounding cities have been placed on a lock down by Chinese officials and they are trying to hurriedly build a 1,000 bed hospital for the victims of the coronavirus.

It was reported on the news that a man here in the US has been placed in a quarantine unit where he is being mainly treated with the use of robots to limit the risk to human medical personnel.

World Health Organization (WHO) doctors are contemplating whether or not to declare a global emergency due to the spread and virulence of the coronavirus. Before they do, they say they want more data and information, but the likelihood of a global emergency declaration is rather high.  The CDC has issued a travel warning to China and several other nations in the area

What is coronavirus? Believe it or not, most people have been infected with a coronavirus, as reported by the CDC:

Common human coronaviruses, including types 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1, usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold. Most people get infected with these viruses at some point in their lives. These illnesses usually only last for a short amount of time. Symptoms may include:

• runny nose

• headache

• cough

• sore throat

• fever

• a general feeling of being unwell

Human coronaviruses can sometimes cause lower-respiratory tract illnesses, such as pneumonia or bronchitis. This is more common in people with cardiopulmonary disease, people with weakened immune systems, infants, and older adults.

So what makes this Chinese outbreak so deadly or such a huge concern? It’s because it is a more virulent strain of the coronavirus, unlike the more common ones that most of us have had at one time or another. In fact, the Chinese strain is being reported as previously unknown strain, meaning that health officials know very little about it, how to treat it or what the mortality rate is likely to be.

Although WHO doctors are yet hesitant to declare a global emergency, the CDC is taking more precautions, as reported:

On Thursday, the CDC escalated its health warning regarding travel to Wuhan, China to a level 3. This means the CDC advises travelers to avoid nonessential travel to Wuhan, China — previously identified as the epicenter of the recent outbreak.

According to the CDC:

• Chinese officials have closed transport in and out of Wuhan, including buses, subways, trains, and the international airport.

• Preliminary information suggests that older adults and people with underlying health conditions may be at increased risk for severe disease from this virus.

• Person to person transmission has been confirmed.

There have been 581 infectionsTrusted Source of the virus reported according to the World Health Organization and 17 deaths.

“We know that there is human-to-human transmission in China, but for now it appears limited to family groups and health workers caring for infected patients. At this time there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen,” Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO said in a statement.

Ghebreyesus admitted that they don’t know the source of this virus, and “we don’t understand how easily it spreads and we don’t fully understand its clinical features or severity.”

At the moment, there is only the one confirmed case in the United States, but as more people travel globally, it is quite likely that there will be more cases reported here in the US in the upcoming months. Therefore, if you or anyone you know has been traveling to China or any of the other countries where the coronavirus is being reported and you feel like you are starting some kind of respiratory illness, SEE YOUR DOCTOR ASAP!!!! Chances are, it’s only the flu or one of the other non-flu respiratory bugs going around, but is it worth the risk of not finding out for sure?