Understanding the Corona Virus
Circa December 2019, the Chinese authorities notified the world that a virus was spreading through their communities. In the following months, it spread to other countries at an exponential rate. This virus is the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as COVID-19.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses which includes the viruses responsible for SARS and MERS infections. There are a hundred of known coronaviruses and seven of them infect humans and cause diseases. Of the seven human coronaviruses, four cause colds, mild, highly contagious infections of the nose and throat. Two infect the lungs and cause much more severe illnesses. The seventh that causes COVID that has features of each: it spreads easily but can severely impact the lungs.
These viruses are spherical and coated with spikes of protein that allow them to attach to a protein on the surface of cells, called ACE2. When the coronavirus binds to it, it sets off chemical changes that effectively fuse the membranes around the cell and the virus together, allowing the virus’s RNA to enter the cell.
At its core, they contain a genetic blueprint called the RNA. The single-stranded RNA acts as a molecular message that enables the production of proteins needed for other elements of the virus.
Bound to this string of RNA are nuclear proteins that give the virus it’s structure and enable it to replicate. Encapsulating the RNA genome is the viral envelope, a waxy barrier containing fat molecules, which protects the virus when it is outside the host’s cells. Envelope proteins embedded in this layer help the assembly of new virus particles once it has infected a cell.
Outside the coronavirus are the spike proteins which acts as hooks, allowing the virus to latch onto the host cell and crack them open for infection. Like other viruses, coronaviruses are unable to reproduce and thrive outside a host’s cells which is why they infect and inject their genetic material onto host cells in order to replicate.
The virus's RNA also codes for proteins that: prevents the host cell from sending signals to the immune system that it's under attack, helps the virus resist the host cell's immunity and encourages the host cell to release the newly created virions.
Beneath these spikes is a layer of membrane that can be disrupted by alcohols which is why alcohol hand sanitisers and soap are effective against the virus. This is because soap molecules disrupt the virus’s lipid membrane, causing it to fall apart.
Another preventative measure the public can take is to practice social distancing. Social distancing helps limit chances to come in contact with contaminated surfaces and infected people. This is because it spreads mainly among people who are in close contact for a long time. The spread happens when an infected person sneezes, coughs or talk and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. Wearing a mask that covers your mouth and nose can also stop the droplets can also be inhaled into the lungs.
