Coronavirus - Symptoms and Diagnosis

A newly detected virus named Coronavirus have appeared in Chinese city of Wuhan which have claimed more than 43 lives worldwide till now. It have infected hundreds of Chinese citizens with a pneumonia-like illness, according to China's National Health Commission. This virus arrived in United States and Europe this week. The bulk are in China, with a handful of cases confirmed in Thailand, Japan, South Korea and the US, where a man is his 30s in Washington state and a woman in 70s has been confirmed to have the disease. Further spread was confirmed on this friday when Australia announced its first confirmed case and France announced three confirmed cases.

Here is the breakdown as it stands : 

• China: 923 confirmed cases
• Thailand: 5 confirmed cases 
• Singapore: 3 confirmed cases
• France: 3 confirmed cases
• Vietnam: 2 confirmed cases 
• Japan: 2 confirmed cases
• South Korea: 2 confirmed cases
• US: 2 confirmed cases
• Australia: 1 confirmed case

Wuhan the epicenter of this virus has been shut downed  to reduce the spread of the virus, canceling transportation leaving the city starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. The travel restrictions were extended to four other cities (Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi and Zhijiang) later that day, and constraints were announced in nine more cities on Friday -- impacting more than 35 million people. 

The restrictions come during a busy travel period for China, when citizens typically travel for the Lunar New Year. Major public events Chinese capital Beijing have been canceled, and both Beijing's Forbidden city and Shanghai's Disneyland said they'd close from Saturday. All of the restrictions and closures will last indefinitely.

The symptoms of most coronaviruses are similar to any other upper respiratory infection, including runny nose, coughing, sore throat, common cold and sometimes a fever. In most cases, you won't know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus. 

You could get lab tests, including nose and throat cultures and blood testes, to find out whether your cold was caused by a coronavirus, but there's no reason to. The test results wouldn't change how you treat your symptoms, which typically go away in a few days.

But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease, or people with weakened immune systems.

Till now not a single case is confirmed in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. In south Asia Nepal is the only country where coronovirus have appeared. In the case of the appearance of above mentioned symptoms, you should immediately contact local medical authorities and handle this deadly disease more than seriously.