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COVID-19 and Mental Health
The total impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic will not be fully known for some time. One thing, however, is clear: no matter your specific experiences during the pandemic, your mental health has been affected.
The impacts — both physically and mentally — of the COVID-19 global pandemic will not be fully known for some time. Whether you’ve had COVID-19 and recovered, were tested and the results were negative, known someone in one of both categories, or you simply have been isolated in your home for months, you have experienced the pandemic and your mental health has been affected.
Today, as we join the conversation for Bell Let’s Talk Day let’s take a look at mental health and mental illness.
What is mental health?
Mental health can be described much like our physical health. We exercise and eat well to maintain healthy bodies. In the case of your mental well-being, you need to give awareness to how you are managing your life, how you cope with the highs and lows, the stresses and anxieties, that we all experience regularly.
Conditions like depression, anxiety disorder, addictive behaviors, and eating disorders are all examples of types of mental illness. They become concerning and in need of attention when your moods, thoughts, and behaviors are impacting your ability to function on a day-to-day basis.
The brain is complex. Let’s look at how it works.
Our brain contains billions of neurons that are essentially the communicators. They communicate with the help of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) moving from neuron to neuron. You might be familiar with some of the common brain chemicals associated with joy and happiness — serotonin (mood stabilizer), dopamine (reward chemical), endorphins (painkiller), or oxytocin (the love hormone). Working together these brain chemicals all contribute to how we feel emotionally.
Watch this video for a crash course on how brain chemicals work.
Scientific advances in recent years have made it clear that the brain plays a central role in mental health. Our brains are complex organs and much like other organs — the heart, kidneys, or lungs — illness occurs when it is not working properly.
Watch for signs of mental illness
With all the activity happening in the brain it is not surprising that disruptions occur. Like our physical health, learning to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness is key. The symptoms can range from loss of motivation and energy, changed sleep patterns, extreme mood swings, disturbances in thought or perception, or overwhelming obsessions or fears. Sometimes symptoms of a mental health disorder appear as physical problems, such as stomach pain, back pain, headaches, or other unexplained aches and pains.
From time to time many of us will experience symptoms and have concerns about our mental well-being, more so now as we live through a pandemic. The good news is there are resources and techniques to help improve your mental wellness. However, sometimes the chemicals in your brain don’t work as they should. For example, if you aren’t producing enough serotonin you may suffer from ongoing symptoms of depression making it difficult, or unbearable to function on a daily basis. Eventually, this affects your life at home, work, or school. Fortunately, there are medications and/or therapeutic ways to help. A visit to your primary health care provider is a great place to start.
What can I do to help improve my mental health?
Start with your outlook on life. Is your glass half full or half empty? Having a positive outlook makes a difference in how you feel. Yes, we all can feel grumpy sometimes, but it has been proven that focusing on the positive, rather than having negative thoughts has an impact on your mental well-being. It won’t happen overnight. It will take work, much like physical exercise, but it is worth the effort.
Here are some simple things you can try today:
• Take a walk or run outside.
• A nap can always give a boost of energy.
• Call a friend or family member.
• Read a book.
• Listen to a podcast.
• Tidy your workspace and get rid of clutter.
Longer term strategies to improve your mental wellness:
• Practice gratitude with a daily journal or create a Gratitude Jar
• Include meditation and yoga in your daily or weekly activities.
• Consider a yearly mental health check-up with a psychologist.
Online Resources:
The Saskatchewan Science Centre is honoured to work with local organizations like The More Joy Movement led by the author of Journey to Joy, Christalee Forese. Learn more about Christalee’s journey and the movement at morejoy.ca
Government of Saskatchewan: Mental Health and COVID-19
Mental Wellness Support Lines in Saskatchewan: CMHA Saskatchewan Division
Depression in men has long been surrounded by strong stigma. HeadsUpGuys aims to destroy these myths and empower men with the tools they need to combat depression.: You’re Not Alone | Depression Stories from Men
Resources for children: CTV Your Morning - 10 Amazing Reads That Will Help Your Kids Understand Mental Health
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Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting
Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting… we talk about them all the time, but what do these words really mean, and why should you care?
Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting
This article is part of a series of articles designed to provide science-based information to regular people so that they can better understand the science around the COVID-19 pandemic. If this is your first time here, you may want to start at the beginning.
Looking for the answer to a specific question?
Find answers to The Big Questions at the bottom of the page.
We know that the primary way that the SARS-CoV-2 virus (and thus COVID-19 ) is spread is through aerosol droplets. When the pandemic began, and science didn’t truly understand the virus, the disease, or the modes of transmission, precautions were taken to cover all possible modes of transmission, and a lot of focus was placed on surfaces as a vector that was easier to control. Sanitizing wipes became almost impossible to find, and any product in the store that claimed it killed 99.9% of anything flew off the shelves.
People used many terms to describe how to halt the spread: cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting. Some people viewed these terms as interchangeable, but each has a specific meaning, and there are specific reasons to choose each one. What do the words actually mean? What is the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting?
When a product says it kills 99.99% of germs, what does that mean? Do you need to follow certain precautions for the products to work properly? And do you need to purchase specific products to kill germs and viruses, or do some of the products you already have at home do the job?
A note about ‘killing’ viruses: As we discuss in Part 1: What Is A Virus, viruses are not really alive. So while the term ‘kill’ may be used in reference to viruses, disinfectants really inactivate the virus so they cannot cause harm.
Fomites & Fomite Transmission
There are many different forms of disease transmission. By now, we’re all likely familiar with aerosol transmission – when a pathogen contained in aerosol droplets passes from one animal to another, or Vector-borne, where a disease is spread by an insect (such as malaria or Lyme disease). Fomite Transmission is the name for when a pathogen is transmitted by an inanimate object, or “fomite”. A fomite is any inanimate object, such as a doorknob, light switch, or cell phone, that a pathogen can remain on and be passed from person to person. Fomite transmission can include secondary sources of exposure – for example, when a pathogen is transferred from an elevator button to a finger, and then the finger is used to rub your eye (or pick your nose!).
Imagine a freshly painted wall. Unknowingly, you place your hand on the wall, covering the surface of your hand with paint. You then open a door and leave paint behind on the doorknob. The next person who opens the door also gets paint on their hand and they might place their hand on another wall. Each time the paint moves to a new surface less paint is deposited, but the paint is still present.
Note: The idea of cross-contamination of disease is a common form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder called Contamination OCD. While you should make every effort to be safe, such as washing your hands, if the fear of germs or disease is causing stress in your life, consider talking about it with a medical professional.
In order to remove pathogens and other contaminants from surfaces that we interact with every day, there are three commonly discussed methods.
What Is The Difference Between Cleaning, Sanitizing, And Disinfecting?
Cleaning removes dirt, oils, dust, and germs from surfaces. Cleaning generally involves using soap and water and mechanical action (such as scrubbing or high pressure) to remove objects from those surfaces. Cleaning may remove some pathogens, and soap may even kill some pathogens leaving behind fewer pathogens that can cause infection.
Sanitizing is defined by Health Canada as reducing the population of microorganisms on environmental inanimate surfaces and objects. Sanitizing may still leave microorganisms on surfaces. In the United States, the CDC defines sanitizing as “removing the number of bacterial contaminants to safe levels as judged by public health requirements”. Today, many people will think of hand sanitizer when they think of sanitizing, but “surface sanitizers are considered pest control products and must be registered before they can be manufactured, imported, distributed, sold, or used in Canada to ensure they meet Canadian health and environmental standards.“ Surface sanitizers are NOT as effective as disinfectants but may be suitable for your use.
In Canada, disinfectants are treated like drugs and all disinfectants that are approved for sale in Canada will have a drug identification number or DIN. Most disinfectants will likely work against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but Health Canada records disinfectants that have demonstrated that they are effective specifically against SARS-CoV-2 and maintains a list of these hard surface disinfectants on their website.
Disinfectants, household cleaners, and bleach are meant to be used to clean surfaces. Never use these products on the skin or internally (e.g. by swallowing or injecting these products) as this could cause serious harm. – Health Canada
Contact Time or ‘Kill Time’
True disinfectants are not just cleaning products, they are actually tested and controlled by Health Canada as a drug, and are issued a Drug Identification Number. The process of being tested by Health Canada ensures that each product actually does what it claims when the proper instructions are followed. One important part of these instructions is ensuring that the appropriate Contact Time (sometimes referred to as ‘Kill Time’ or ‘Wet Time’) is observed.
Contact Time is the length of time that a surface or object must remain wet with the disinfectant for the disinfectant to work properly and kill all of the germs. Different products have different amounts of Contact Time. This time will be included on the spec sheet for the product along with other information such as pH, and whether or not the product is Food Safe or needs to be rinsed after application.
Contact Time will vary depending on the concentration and strength of the disinfectant being used with stronger and more concentrated chemicals having a shorter Contact time.
Based on this, it might seem to make sense to choose a disinfectant with the highest concentration of active ingredients, but there is a cost. Having a higher concentration and stronger solution may reduce the time needed to disinfect a hard surface, but it also often means that the disinfectant is more likely to leave behind more residue and eventually cause damage to the surfaces which are being cleaned repeatedly.
How Do Disinfectants Work And What Kinds Of Disinfectants Are There?
Disinfectants can be made from many different types of compounds, including Alcohol, Chlorine, Hydrogen Peroxide, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, and many more. Choosing the proper disinfectant for a specific use case is a subject of much research as the end-user must consider the surfaces to be disinfected, temperature, humidity, ease of use, Contact Time, and whether the disinfectant is food safe.
Different types of disinfectants work in different ways. For example, acidic disinfectants destroy the bonds of nucleic acids and precipitating proteins, while phenols denature proteins and inactivate membrane-bound enzymes.
Food Safe or Food Contact Surface disinfectants are those that can be used in settings where food may come into contact with the surfaces being disinfected, such as restaurants or movie theatres.
How to Properly Disinfect A Hard Surface
Remove Debris. Remove debris from the surface. Imagine trying to spray disinfectant on a surface that was covered in breadcrumbs. The disinfectant may not be able to get under the breadcrumbs, leaving those spaces not disinfected. By removing debris (including dirt, garbage, or food) we ensure that the disinfectant will have full access to the surface to do the work.
Cleaning. Using warm soapy water, wash and dry the surface prior to disinfecting. Washing with soapy water will remove dirt and oils from the surface to allow the disinfectant to have complete access to the surface. Ideally, let the surface air dry or dry with a towel.
Disinfect. Following the instructions on the container, allow the disinfectant to sit on the surface for the specified Contact Time.
Never mix cleaning or disinfecting products. For example, if ammonia and bleach come into contact with each other they create chloramine gas which is toxic to people and animals.
The Big Questions
Does COVID-19 spread on surfaces?
“SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 may be spread when a person touches another person, or a surface or object that has the virus on it, and then touches their mouth, nose, or eyes with unwashed hands.” - HEALTH CANADA
Can I catch COVID-19 from doorknobs or other surfaces?
“Viable SARS-CoV-2 virus and/or RNA can be found on surfaces for periods ranging from hours to days. Despite consistent evidence as to SARS-CoV-2 contamination of surfaces and the survival of the virus on certain surfaces, there are no specific reports which have directly demonstrated fomite transmission. However, fomite transmission is considered a likely mode of transmission for SARS-CoV-2, given consistent findings about environmental contamination in the vicinity of infected cases and the fact that other coronaviruses and respiratory viruses can transmit this way.” - WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Do I need to wash my groceries?
“Wash fruits and vegetables under running water. Washing fresh produce with soap, chlorine, or other chemicals is not recommended.” - HEALTH CANADA
“There is no evidence to date of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses being transmitted via food or food packaging.” - WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
What can I use to disinfect my home?
“In non-healthcare settings, sodium hypochlorite (bleach/chlorine) may be used at a recommended concentration of 0.1% or 1,000ppm (1 part of 5% strength household bleach to 49 parts of water). Surfaces must be cleaned with water and soap or a detergent first to remove dirt, followed by disinfection.” - WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
“Prepare a diluted bleach solution according to instructions on the label or if using bleach that has a concentration of 5% hypochlorite, add 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of bleach in 250 mL (a cup) of water, or add 20 mL (4 teaspoons) bleach in 1 litre (4 cups) of water to give a 0.1% sodium hypochlorite solution. Be sure to prepare the solution fresh, when you are intending to use it, and only dilute bleach in water (and not with additional chemicals).” - HEALTH CANADA
Do you need to disinfect? Learn about the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting (above). Many cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants are available for home use - read and follow the labels and instructions carefully. Do not mix different types of cleaners.
What are the best ways to prevent me and my loved ones from getting COVID-19?
Follow all Public Health Orders.
Get vaccinated as soon as you are able to.
Stay at least 2 meters away from others who do not live in your household.
Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
What Is A Virus?
Viruses are the most abundant pathogen on Earth. Viruses are microscopic parasites, generally much smaller than bacteria. They lack the capacity to thrive and reproduce outside of a host body such as bacteria, animals, or plants. Each viral particle, or virion, consists of a single nucleic acid - RNA or DNA - surrounded by a protein coat. The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral forms to more complex structures.
What is a virus?
A pathogen is a biological agent that causes disease or illness in a host. Viruses are the most abundant pathogen on Earth. Viruses are microscopic parasites, generally much smaller than bacteria. They lack the capacity to thrive and reproduce outside of a host body such as bacteria, animals, or plants.
Each viral particle, or virion, consists of a single nucleic acid - RNA or DNA - surrounded by a protein coat.
The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral forms to more complex structures. Most virus species have virions too small to be seen with an optical microscope as they are one hundredth the size of most bacteria.
Outside of a cell, a viral particle is inert. A virus is capable of replication only within the living cells of a host. Once a host cell is infected, the host is forced to rapidly reproduce thousands of identical copies of the virus, which are then able to spread and infect other cells.
Ebola virus, 1976. Courtesy of the CDC
Is a virus alive?
Viruses are not capable of reproducing on their own; they can only reproduce within the living cells of a host organism. While many people debate the definition of what makes something alive, the ability to reproduce independently is often considered to be one of the seven characteristics of living things. Viruses are genetic material (DNA or RNA) but are not generally considered to be alive.
Where are viruses found?
Wherever there is life, there are viruses. They are found in soil, the air that we breathe, and oceans. They are a part of almost every ecosystem on Earth. They even live in extreme environments such as hot springs, deep ocean thermal vents, and Antarctic ice.
Are all viruses bad?
Not all viruses are harmful. Viruses play a critical part in our ecosystem and are helpful in sustaining life on Earth. For example, viruses help the microbes in the ocean produce oxygen. The oxygen that these microbes produce accounts for nearly half of the oxygen on the planet. A class of viruses known as bacteriophages can even kill a spectrum of harmful bacteria, providing protection to humans.
How do viruses spread?
Viruses spread in many ways.
One transmission pathway is through disease-bearing organisms known as vectors: for example, viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that feed on plant sap, such as aphids; and viruses in animals can be carried by blood-sucking insects, such as mosquitos.
Infection can also occur via the exchange of blood and bodily fluids, via contaminated food or water, respiration of viruses contained in aerosols, and fecal matter. Some viruses can live on surfaces outside the human body and can be acquired through cross-contamination due to unsafe handling practices.
Some viruses are spread easier than others. The term R0 (pronounced “R naught”) is used to describe the transmissibility of a disease. Each person infected with a disease with an R0 of 5 would, on average, infect 5 otherwise healthy people. The R0 of the 1918 Swine flu (Spanish Flu) was estimated to be between 1.4 and 2.8.
What infections do viruses cause?
Viruses infect all living organisms: plants, animals (including humans), and bacteria. Only a tiny fraction of the viruses that surround us actually pose any threat to human life or health. Some well-known human diseases caused by viruses include influenza, chickenpox, HIV, Ebola, cold sores, and the common cold.
The term “Virulence” is defined as the ability of a microbe to cause disease or damage in a host. In other words, the more virulent a virus is, the more dangerous it is to its host.
How does the human body fight against viruses?
Viruses make us sick by killing cells or disrupting cell function.
Our bodies seek to identify infections in several ways, and once identified will try to fight the infection. This fight, known as the immune response, includes the secretion of a chemical called interferon (which blocks viruses from reproducing), or the production of antibodies, and more.
In response to an infection, your immune system springs into action to destroy the disease. Many of the symptoms we feel when sick - fever, malaise, rash, headache - are a result of our own immune system trying to protect us.
Drugs prescribed by a doctor can also help your body to fight infections. People will often receive a prescription for an antibiotic such as Amoxicillin or Azithromycin as a treatment for a disease caused by a bacteria. However, antibiotics don’t work for infections caused by a virus.
Protecting yourself from disease
• Practice good hygiene: wash your hands thoroughly or use hand sanitizers
• Ensure that your food and drinks are safe to consume and hygienically prepared
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze or cough
• Practice safe sex and get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
• Use insect repellents to avoid bug bites and limit outdoor activity during peak mosquito hours of early morning and evening
• Stay clear of wild animals. Many wild animals, including raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes, can spread rabies to humans by biting. Keep your pets away from wild animals as well, and make sure their vaccinations are up to date
• Get vaccinated to protect yourself and others
• Take travel precautions: follow the guidance of the World Health Organization and Government of Canada when travelling and avoid travelling to places where travel is not recommended or where there are Travel Health Notices. Work with your doctor to get additional immunizations or travel medicine as recommended.
How to protect society from disease
The velocity of the spread of disease correlates with a number of factors: human population density and sanitation being two of the most significant. There is evidence that many highly lethal viruses lie in biotic reservoirs in remote areas, and epidemics are sometimes triggered when humans encroach on natural areas that may have been isolated for long time frames; this theory has been suggested for many dangerous diseases including Ebola, HIV, and COVID-19.
Herd Immunity
Herd immunity is a term used to describe what happens when a large portion of a community has become immune to a disease. When enough people in a community have immunity to a disease, it makes the transmission of the disease very unlikely. The percentage of a population that must be immune to achieve herd immunity is called a “threshold proportion.” This percentage depends on how contagious the disease is - the R0. For some very contagious diseases, such as measles, this threshold can be as high as 94% of the population. To achieved herd immunity, enough people need to receive a vaccine for a disease or suffer from and survive a disease to build natural immunity.
Resources for Additional Reading
Viruses:
Infections:
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What Is SARS-CoV-2?
In the first post of our Understanding COVID-19 series, we discussed what a virus was and whether they were alive. In this post, we’re going to discuss the specifics of SARS-CoV-2, which is the name of the virus that causes the disease named COVID-19.
What Is SARS-CoV-2?
In the first post of our Understanding COVID-19 series, we discussed what a virus was and whether they were alive. In this post, we’re going to discuss the specifics of SARS-CoV-2, which is the name of the virus that causes the disease named COVID-19.
The ‘Coronavirus’
Viruses are distinguished by their shape. When seen with a microscope, coronaviruses have a structure of proteins around them that are similar to the corona of the sun, which looks similar to a crown. The Latin word for crown is corona, hence coronavirus.
For many months now we have been interfacing with what is commonly referred to as “The Coronavirus”. Using the name “coronavirus” to describe the actual disease affecting so many people during this global pandemic is incorrect. This is because there are many known types of coronaviruses that have been discovered since the 1960s; some are able to infect humans and some can infect or be hosted by other mammals or birds. In fact, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, there are at least seven known types of coronavirus existing today that can infect humans. These are:
Types of Coronaviruses Known To Infect Humans
“Coronaviruses, a large family of single-stranded RNA viruses, can infect animals and also humans, causing respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, and neurologic diseases.” The most common coronaviruses to infect humans are the alpha and beta coronaviruses which generally induce diseases such as the common cold and are very easy for doctors to treat. Because of this, research into coronaviruses was not a scientific focus until the discovery of the SARS-CoV-1 coronavirus. SARS-CoV-1 is the virus responsible for the SARS disease epidemic which affected 26 countries in 2003. According to the American Society for Microbiology, “Before the SARS epidemic in 2003, there were only 19 known coronaviruses, including 2 human, 13 mammalian, and 4 avian coronaviruses. After the SARS epidemic, more than 20 additional novel coronaviruses have been described with complete genome sequences.”
The Discovery of SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 Courtesy the CDC
In December of 2019 Chinese health authorities reported clusters of patients with symptoms similar to pneumonia. Epidemiologists, scientists that study the systematic and data-driven patterns of distribution and determinants of health-related events, traced the origin of the symptoms to a seafood and live animal market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
After the SARS outbreak in 2003, epidemiologists established surveillance mechanisms to quickly identify potential new pathogens that might become a global health concern. These mechanisms identified the pathogen in the Chinese patients as sharing genetic similarities to SARS-CoV-1, and named this novel pathogen 2019nCoV. By January 2020, the World Health Organization expressed the resulting disease a public health emergency of international concern. “ICTV announced “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” as the name of the new virus on 11 February 2020. This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003. While related, the two viruses are different.”
The WHO announced “COVID-19” as the name of this new disease on 11 February 2020, following guidelines previously developed with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Because SARS-CoV-2 is a new and previously unknown virus our knowledge of how it is transmitted, reproduces, and the resulting effects of the virus continues to evolve.
Understanding the Names: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19
To better understand how scientists name different types of coronaviruses and diseases, let’s break it down. SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. CoV stands for coronavirus. The number 1 in SARS-CoV-1 represents the first coronavirus discovered that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The coronavirus responsible for causing the COVID-19 disease pandemic has been named SARS-CoV-2. “This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003.” In the early days of the pandemic, this virus was called 2019nCoV.
The name of the disease which is caused by SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - can also be broken down to be better understood. The CO stands for Corona, the VI stands for Virus, the D stands for Disease, and 19 is the year the disease was first discovered. The term “novel” has also been used in association with SARS-CoV-2. The novel, in this case, is used to implicate SARS-CoV-2 as newly discovered. The N in 2019nCov was used to note that this was a novel virus.
“It is important to understand that when people or media outlets loosely use the word “coronavirus” to describe the current pandemic, they really are referring to only one of many types of coronaviruses that can infect humans: SARS-CoV-2. This virus infects people and causes the COVID-19 disease.”
The Link Between SARS-CoV-2 and Habitat Destruction
Zoonotic diseases, or diseases transmitted from animals to humans through bites, scratches, or ingestion, are not new. The bacteria responsible for the black death was transmitted to humans through flea bites, tuberculosis originated in cows and transferred to humans through consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, or by being close to an infected animal, malaria continues to be transmitted by mosquitoes, and Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks. In fact, “Six out of every 10 infectious diseases in people are zoonotic, according to Dr. Roland Kays, a Research Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State’s College of Natural Resources.”
The leading theory on the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 (but which has not yet been definitively proven) is that a virus that shares 96% of its genome sequencing with the SARS-CoV-2 was living dormant long ago in a horseshoe bat, or possibly a pangolin, was then transmitted to an intermediate host such as the meats found at the seafood market where the virus mutated, and then, was transmitted to humans. Once the SARS-CoV-2 virus took root in humans it spread and continues to spread across the globe at an alarming and exponential rate. The moment when a zoonotic disease mutates and transfers from animal to human is called a spillover event. “Wet markets make a perfect storm for cross-species transmission of pathogens,” says Thomas Gillespie, disease ecologist. “Whenever you have novel interactions with a range of species in one place, whether that is in a natural environment like a forest or a wet market, you can have a spillover event.”
It’s not fair to blame bats for COVID-19. What we need to understand about zoonotic diseases is that it is not just one type of animal that can carry viruses that could be dangerous to humans. There are countless viruses in a wide variety of animal or bird hosts that could potentially infect humans.
Habitat destruction, including deforestation and agricultural development on wildland, is increasingly forcing disease-carrying wild animals closer to humans, allowing new strains of infectious diseases to thrive and spill over into our communities.
“We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbor so many species of animals and plants—and within those creatures, so many unknown viruses,” David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Pandemic, “We cut the trees; we kill the animals or cage them and send them to markets. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it.”
This infers that if we do not start valuing and protecting natural habitats and the biodiversity of this planet, pandemics will likely become a more frequent occurrence.
How SARS-CoV-2 Spreads?
The current understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 (and accordingly, COVID-19) spreads is described on the Government of Canada website:
“SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks. The droplets vary in size from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller droplets, sometimes called aerosols, which linger in the air under some circumstances.
The relative infectiousness of droplets of different sizes is not clear. Infectious droplets or aerosols may come into direct contact with the mucous membranes of another person's nose, mouth or eyes, or they may be inhaled into their nose, mouth, airways and lungs. The virus may also spread when a person touches another person (i.e., a handshake) or a surface or an object (also referred to as a fomite) that has the virus on it, and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands.”
Other mammals, such as dogs and cats, can also become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, though they are considered a low risk to people. Other wild animals, such as minks and ferrets can also become infected. Some scientists are also concerned about the infection risk to endangered marine mammals through contaminated sewage or wastewater.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is extremely contagious, and preventing the spread of the virus is of the utmost importance. Simple measures, such as proper handwashing, wearing masks, social distancing, and regular cleaning and disinfecting surfaces are our best defences against becoming sick or transmitting the virus to others.
SARS-CoV-2 Variants
What are variants of a virus?
Viruses have the innate ability to multiply by creating copies of themselves when they are in a host. By creating abundant copies of its genome, the virus ensures its survival and thus continues to infect new hosts. During this reproduction process, some of the copies are not exactly the same as the original virus which makes a new variant of this virus.
Dr. Kara Loose, in her interview with the Science Centre, describes this with an analogy to writing. When we are trying to write (or copy) a text quickly, we make mistakes. Similarly, when a virus is trying to quickly multiply, it sometimes makes mistakes and does not create the exact same copy as the original virus. Sometimes these variations result in making the virus stronger, for example, by making it easier to spread. In other instances, these variants may include changes that make the virus weaker or unable to reproduce further.
How SARS–CoV-2 Variants Contribute to the Current Global Pandemic?
As the SARS-CoV-2 virus went on spreading across the Globe, it created multiple variants of the original virus.
Due to the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we recommend the following regularly updated resources to learn about SARS-CoV-2 variants:
WHO - https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/
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What Is COVID-19?
Just what is COVID-19? What do we know about it, and how can we keep ourselves safe?
What Is COVID-19?
This story is part 3 of a series. If this is your first time reading, you may want to read Part 1: What Is A Virus, and Part 2: What Is SARS-CoV-2? first. This will give you a general understanding of what a virus is and some more specific understanding of the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
In 2019 a cluster of people in China became sick with pneumonia. As medical professionals began to investigate the disease, they discovered that it had been caused by a “Novel” virus – one that is new to medicine or that has not been seen before. This virus was given the name 2019-N-CoV, and is now called SARS-CoV-2.
As doctors began to investigate, they found that all of the patients could be traced back to a seafood and live animal market in the city of Wuhan, China. From the market, it soon spread to friends and family members, as well as the medical professionals who treated them.
One of the doctors involved in treating those early patients, Li Wenliang, also contracted the virus and became sick with the disease. On December 30th, 2019 he sent a warning to his fellow medical professionals. His work with COVID-19 began when he observed that the cases and symptoms reminded him of SARS – a disease that led to a global epidemic in 2003. He died of COVID-19 on February 7th at the age of 33.
Viruses cause disease when they get inside the cells of your body and hijack them, forcing the cells to replicate the virus and spreading the new copies throughout the rest of your body. The more cells that are infected to reproduce the virus, an exponential increase in the number of viral cells are created. This is the etymology of the term ‘going viral’ as we refer to it about ideas or on the internet or in social media.
When a virus, including SARS CoV-2, gets inside your body there is an “incubation period” – this is the period of time from the point when you first become infected with a disease to the point at which you begin to show symptoms. For COVID-19, the incubation period can be as long as 14 days. Some people begin to show symptoms as soon as 2 days after infection, but the median incubation period for COVID-19 is 4 to 5 days.
Some people who become infected will not feel sick and do not ever exhibit symptoms. These cases are called asymptomatic. If you are exposed to COVID-19 and eventually show symptoms, the period of time for which you were sick but were not showing symptoms is called presymptomatic. It is important to note that it appears that people can spread the virus even when they are asymptomatic or presymptomatic. Some estimates suggest that as many as 30% to 40% of cases of COVID-19 are asymptomatic. This is why it is so important that everyone follows the recommendations of public health authorities to prevent further spread – if someone chooses not to wear a mask or social distance because ‘they feel fine’ they could be spreading the disease to someone else in the community – potentially someone who is more susceptible to the disease and who may eventually die.
How It Spreads
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks. The droplets vary in size from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller droplets, sometimes called aerosols, which linger in the air under some circumstances.
The relative infectiousness of droplets of different sizes is not clear. Infectious droplets or aerosols may come into direct contact with the mucous membranes of another person's nose, mouth or eyes, or they may be inhaled into their nose, mouth, airways and lungs. The virus may also spread when a person touches another person (i.e., a handshake) or a surface or an object (also referred to as a fomite) that has the virus on it, and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands. – Canada.ca
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has a high R0 ("R - naught”) – the number of additional people whom one person with the disease will infect. While it’s not yet known exactly what the R0 of SARS-CoV-2 is, many estimates place it around 2.5 That means that each person with COVID-19, on average, will give it to 2.5 other people.
For simplicity, let us assume that the R0 was only 2:
If 1 person infects 2 others, then those two new cases each infect two others leading to 4 cases, and those 4 each infect two more leading 8 cases. These numbers may seem small, but they are exponential. 2 becomes 4, then 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 262144, 524288, and after twenty cycles: 1,048,576.
Yes, with a disease like COVID-19 one person who wears a mask at the grocery store when presymptomatic can prevent more than 1,000,000 other infections.
Compare this level of spread to that of the average seasonal flu with an R0 of approximately 1.27. After 20 cycles of spread 1 person with an infection rate of 1.27 leads to only 119 infections. 119 versus more than 1,000,000 – and that is why, regardless of the severity of the disease, the mortality rate, or any other factors, we all need to take responsibility for stopping the spread of COVID-19.
In Saskatchewan, the first presumptive case of COVID-19 was identified on March 12, 2020. From March 12th until November 4th (237 days) there were 3, 408 cases identified. In the subsequent 20 days (November 5th through November 24th) there were an additional 3,475 cases - more than a doubling of the number in a very short period.
Managing and taking precautions against COVID-19 isn’t only about you – it’s about everybody else around you. This is why governments and public health authorities mandate social distancing, staying home, and limit the size of groups. These precautions help protect you, but they aren’t designed specifically to protect YOU as an individual - they are designed to protect everyone else from you. If I protect YOU and you protect ME, then we protect each other, and that is how the pandemic comes to an end.
Click The Image To See The Animation on Vox.com
What The Disease Does
SARS-CoV-2 first infects the cells lining your throat, airways, and lungs. At this point you will not feel sick, but your body is rapidly producing copies of the virus. For many people, a mild sickness is all they will ever experience, and some percentage of those may not even know they are sick.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include:
• New or worsening cough
• Fever
• Difficulty breathing
• Feeling tired
• Abdominal discomfort
• Click here for a full list of common symptoms
These symptoms are a result of your immune system fighting against the virus that is infecting your body. As the immune system reacts, it can trigger inflammation in the lungs – which is called pneumonia. As inflammation in the lungs become more severe, tiny sacs deep in the lungs called alveoli begin to fill up with water and can cause shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. As the sickness worsens, some people will no longer be able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstream through regular breathing. Doctors will need to put those patients on supplemental oxygen, and some of those people may eventually need to be intubated and placed on a ventilator.
However, in some people, the immune system will go into overdrive and begin attacking the body it is trying to protect. In the most severe cases, this can cause the kidneys to fail, preventing them from properly cleaning your blood, damaging the lining of your intestines, the heart, and more. It can also lead to permanent health problems including lung damage, heart damage, septic shock, kidney damage, liver damage., multiorgan failure, and more, including death.
In some rare situations children can develop a severe inflammatory syndrome a few weeks after infection.
According to the CDC, about 80% of the people who get COVID-19 recover from the disease without needing hospital treatment. About 20% of those who get COVID-19 will become seriously ill and require oxygen or other medical interventions, and 5% of people will become critically ill and need intensive care. As of November 25, 2020 the global death rate for COVID-19 was more than 1.4 million people.
Risk Factors For Severe Illness
The people who are most at risk of severe illness from COVID -19 include those aged 60 and older, those with other underlying medical problems such as high blood, pressure, diabetes, heart and lung infections, obesity, or cancer. However, anyone can get sick with COVID-19 and become seriously ill or die at any age.
Why It Matters
If 80% of the population will recover fine from the disease, then why is this such a big deal? Simply put, because 20% of the population won’t. Taking simple precautions can help us all protect 1 in 5 people from serious sickness and risk of death.
Medical systems are not designed to deal with mass outbreaks or mass emergencies; special considerations and plans must be put into place. With a disease such as COVID-19, which spreads very quickly, this can quickly lead to a medical system which is overwhelmed. As a disease spreads and cases rise an increasing percentage of the overall available medical resources needs to be applied to those who are sick with COVID-19 over other diseases. At some point, the medical system becomes so overwhelmed that elective procedures are delayed, treatments for other diseases such as cancer are pushed back, and even emergency medical attention from heart attacks and car accidents can be impacted. This can lead to further loss of life. Eventually, as happened in Italy, doctors may be forced to make decisions about which patients receive medical care, and which do not.
Canada is generally well-prepared for pandemics due to good planning and a high quality of health care. In addition, our nation gained a lot of experience during the SARS outbreak in 2003, where Toronto was an epicenter of the disease.
No one is truly safe, even the otherwise healthy, and we must all work together to protect each other.
Treatment Options
Because COVID-19 is caused by a virus, antibiotics do not help to treat the disease and should not be used for prevention or treatment.
Most people who become ill with COVID-19 will be able to recover at home. Some of the same things you do to feel better if you have the seasonal flu – getting enough rest, staying well hydrated, and taking medication to treat the symptoms will also help you recover from COVID-19.
As doctors and scientists learn more about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, new drugs and treatments are being developed. The antiviral drug Remdesivir was approved by the CDC in October of 2020 to treat certain hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Sometimes a class of steroid called a cortisteroid is administered to patients who have a hyper-immune response to help counteract the immune system’s overreaction that is causing damage and often leads to the most severe symptoms, including death. These drugs are potent anti-inflammatories and are typically readily available and inexpensive.
Some drugs, such as Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine received a lot of attention early in the pandemic. These drugs are typically used to treat malaria and other inflammatory diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, subsequent studies have shown that this is inconclusive. The recommendations are that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine should not be used to prevent or treat COVID-19 infections unless it is being prescribed in a hospital as part of a clinical trial.
There is currently no cure and no single drug that can be used to treat or prevent COVID-19. The best offense against COVID-19 is a good defense against becoming infected in the first place.
Prevention And Protection
This is the subject of the next phase in this series. In general, however, wash your hands regularly, wear a mask when going out in public, and limit your interactions with other people, forming a social bubble or ‘cohort’ to prevent the spread of the disease. Follow public health guidelines; they are there to protect you and keep you safe.
Stay up to date with information on the Government of Canada’s website
Read the Saskatchewan public health guidelines
Reinfections
In the case of some diseases, once you get the disease you have trained your immune system to fight a certain infection you are unlikely to get the disease again. Children born before the 1980s were often expected to get Chickenpox and were sometimes even sent to play with other kids who had Chickenpox in order to ‘get it out of the way’ and build immunity. In some rare cases this would lead to severe illness or death, and in some cases children could become reinfected a second time.
However, this is not he case with COVID-19. Already some people have become infected with COVID-19 a second time. As further testing and tracing is done, doctors will be better able to understand how prevalent reinfection might be. However, other coronaviruses are often able to reinfect people, with immunity lasting several months, but not indefinitely.
A bright spot in this research, however, is that subsequent infections do seem to be milder than the initial case, with the individual’s immune system understanding what to do. However, no one knows the long-term implications of this disease. Just as recovering from Chickenpox makes you susceptible to Shingles later in life, there may be complications down the road from COVID-19, even for those who recovered easily.
COVID Long-Haulers
With many illnesses, such as a cold or the flu, we are used to recovering from the disease and feeling better relatively soon. With COVID-19 there is an increasingly common trend being noticed: the long-haulers. COVID long-haulers are people who seem to have recovered from the disease, but continue to suffer lingering effects, including shortness of breath, fatigue, aches, and more.
While the likelihood of long-term effects is not known, it does not seem to be directly related to the severity of the original infection. As this article from SCIENCE states, there are people with mild symptoms who have long-term issues and people who had significant difficulties with COVID who seem to be fully recovered.
Debunking Coronavirus Myths
There is a lot of misinformation about COVID-19. In part, this is because there is a novel disease and as we began the pandemic people were eager to come up with solutions and explanations. Other pieces of misinformation may have been created to intentionally mislead the public.
The WHO has a comprehensive webpage debunking COVID-19 myths that you should read. Notably:
5G cell phone towers do NOT cause COVID-19. Viruses cannot travel over radio waves or mobile networks
Eating garlic will NOT prevent you from getting sick with COVID-19
Drinking bleach will not prevent or cure COVID-19 AND IS VERY DANGEROUS
People of all ages and health levels can get sick and die from COVID-19, not just the elderly
COVID-19 is not the same as the seasonal influenza or a common cold
Additional Resources
CBC Saskatchewan - Faces of COVID-19
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