ENGLISH ( 25/06/20 ) : DO IT YOURSELF - D.I.Y.

( DÍA 4 )

NOVEMBER 17, 2019 WAS THE DATE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST CASE OF THE NEW CORONAVIRUS, AND PATIENT ZERO WAS A 55-YEAR-OLD FROM WUHAN, CHINA.  AND FROM THERE, WHAT WE ALL KNOW.  THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE HAS NOW REACHED THE INFECTION OF ALMOST THE ENTIRE PLANET.  ON DECEMBER 31, THE WUHAN MUNICIPAL HEALTH COMMITTEE INFORMED THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) THAT 27 PEOPLE HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PNEUMONIA OF UNKNOWN CAUSE, WITH 7 IN CRITICAL CONDITION;  MOST OF THESE CASES WERE WORKERS FROM THE MENTIONED MARKET.  BY JANUARY 1, 2020, THE MARKET HAD BEEN CLOSED AND THE CAUSE OF PNEUMONIA HAD BEEN RULED OUT TO BE SARS, MERS, INFLUENZA, BIRD FLU OR OTHER COMMON RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES CAUSED BY VIRUSES. AFTER THE FIRST OUTBREAK OF COVID-  19 IN WUHAN IN DECEMBER 2019, WHERE THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES CONFIRMED 41 CASES DETECTED BETWEEN DECEMBER 8 AND JANUARY 2, 2020, THE CITY STOPPED REPORTING CASES UNTIL JANUARY 19, WHEN 17 MORE CASES WERE CONFIRMED.  BY THEN, THE FIRST CASES HAD BEEN REPORTED BY COVID-19 OUTSIDE OF CHINA: TWO IN THAILAND AND ONE IN JAPAN.

 THE RAPID SPREAD OF THE DISEASE PROMPTED THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, ON JANUARY 30, 2020, TO DECLARE IT A HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN, BASED ON THE IMPACT THE VIRUS HAD ON UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES WITH LESS HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE.  ON THAT DATE, THE DISEASE WAS DETECTED IN ALL PROVINCES OF MAINLAND CHINA, AND CASES WERE DIAGNOSED IN 15 OTHER COUNTRIES.  ON MARCH 11 THE DISEASE WAS FOUND IN MORE THAN 100 TERRITORIES WORLDWIDE, AND WAS RECOGNIZED AS A PANDEMIC BY THE WHO.  THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CASES CONTINUED TO GROW UNTIL REACHING 500 THOUSAND CASES WORLDWIDE ON MARCH 26, 2020.  THIS DISEASE PRODUCES SYMPTOMS SUCH AS THE FLU, INCLUDING FEVER, DRY COUGH, DYSPNEA (FEELING SHORT OF BREATH), MYALGIA (MUSCLE PAIN), AND FATIGUE.  IN SEVERE CASES IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY PRODUCING PNEUMONIA, ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME, SEPSIS AND SEPTIC SHOCK THAT LEADS TO ABOUT 3.75% OF THOSE INFECTED TO DEATH ACCORDING TO THE WHO. THERE IS NO SPECIFIC TREATMENT;  THE MAIN THERAPEUTIC MEASURES ARE TO RELIEVE SYMPTOMS AND MAINTAIN VITAL FUNCTIONS.