The 2019-nCoV or novel coronavirus outbreak is already a global health emergency , according to the UN. The new type of coronavirus was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese town of Wuhan; since then, it has spread throughout the globe. There are already more than 80,000 affected, and more than 2,700 deaths.
The coronavirus spreads rapidly and, as a precaution, all countries (including Spain) already have an emergency protocol in place. Of course, there is a fine line from caution to scaremongering.
Often times, the perception of risk in the face of a threat does not usually correspond to the real risk of the threat itself. It occurs every time we travel by car (the average person has a 1 in 84 chance of dying in a traffic accident in their lifetime) or when we avoid swimming for a long time in the sea by imagining a ‘spielbergian’ shark attack adventure .
Against 2019-nCoV, a vaccine or antiviral drugs are not yet available, and scientists are working around the clock to learn more about its epidemiology. And despite the regrettable deaths, and the suffering of people with complications from this coronavirus, are many or few infected? And the number of dead? It depends on what we compare it to.
COVID-19 vs. flu
The death or fatality rate of COVID-19 is around 2 or 3%. That is, two or three patients out of every hundred would die of Wuhan coronavirus.
Now, let’s take the data of the Spanish flu, an epidemic that left 500 million affected in the winter of 1918 to 1919, of which about 45 million fatal cases. Its mortality rate, therefore, stands at 10% .
But even more surprising are the data in the case of seasonal flu; with which we are all familiar. The common flu virus or influenza causes between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths each year. At the global level, the mortality rate is 0.6%; however, it can vary between 30 and 60% depending on the country and the general health of the patient. If anything, an incredibly higher rate.
And what are the symptoms of COVID-19 ? In essence, it looks a lot like the flu or pneumonia. It causes coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath and, in some cases, kidney failure. “Pneumonia is what is killing the infected,” according to specialist in Family Medicine Carmen Jódar Casanova.
In addition, people at risk of serious complications or death include, as in the case of other respiratory conditions, the elderly, very young children, people with weakened immune systems or respiratory diseases, or pregnant women.
COVID-19 vs. SARS
On January 29, 2020, authorities confirmed that the number of coronavirus cases in mainland China had exceeded the number of people who were infected with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) during the 2002-2003 epidemic.
In February, the number of deaths from the new coronavirus finally exceeded that of SARS, reaching more than 800 deaths.
By the time the global SARS outbreak was contained, it had spread to more than 8,000 people worldwide; but it killed almost 800. This is equivalent to a mortality of 10%, compared to that of the coronavirus, of only 2%. This comparison also means that the coronavirus spreads much faster than SARS. The coronavirus has an incubation period of 2 to 14 days.
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COVID-19 vs. MERS
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) was first detected in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. As with the new coronavirus, scientists are not sure what its origin is, but an animal reservoir is suspected. According to the United States National Library, the MERS fatality rate stands at 30%. MERS is caused by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Recall that the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a type of coronavirus (a common name that designates viruses that have a characteristic ‘corona’ of proteins on their surface).
