9 coronavirus myths you should stop believing

The coronavirus and the infection it causes, COVID-19, has rapidly spread to countries and territories all over the world. This family of viruses is not new. Other types, or strains, of coronavirus are common in animals and have been known to cause common cold-like symptoms in people. However, this particular strain of coronavirus, is new.

When the first cases were reported in 2019 in Wuhan, China, it had not been seen previously, making it a novel virus. So far, the coronavirus has infected approximately 110,000 people, killing more than 3,800, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering map.

These numbers are likely to rise, according to Dr Alexea Gaffney-Adams, a specialist in infectious diseases. “There is no population immunity, which means everyone is susceptible,” she says. “Also, little is known about how long patients without symptoms are contagious, which makes the infection difficult to contain.” As a result, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

But how worried should you actually be—and what are your chances of getting the coronavirus? There’s a lot of mixed messages and plenty of fallacies surrounding the hows, whys, and whats of the coronavirus. We asked medical experts to set the record straight by helping debunk these popular coronavirus myths.

Many other viruses have a higher mortality rate than the coronavirus, according to Dr Ashish Sharma, a hospital medicine specialist at Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona. Even the flu is thought to be more dangerous because so many more people get it each year. “According to the CDC, this flu season from October 2019 to February 2020 alone has seen 26 to 36 million people affected, with a quarter to half a million people getting hospitalised and fourteen thousand to thirty-six thousand deaths from influenza infection,” says Dr Sharma. “Similarly, the Ebola virus has a much higher fatality rate compared to coronavirus, which so far seems to have a 1-2 per cent fatality rate with severe infection.”

The flu mortality rate is thought to be lower than coronavirus, at about 0.1%, While the mortality rate for coronavirus is not yet clear (estimates range from 0.7 to 4% with about 2.3% the most frequently cited), the WHO and other health organisations says it’s still worth trying to contain the virus so that fewer people get it. That said, the majority of people—80%, according to CDC—who get it are thought to have mild symptoms, although it’s dangerous for some.

There is no evidence to support this rumour, according to experts. It’s true that coronavirus can be found in bats. However, Dr Sharma explains, this came from animal-to-person spread in the wet market (seafood- and meat-selling market) in Wuhan with other animal species. “There are different speculations, but the virus spreading from bat soup person has not been confirmed.” The rumour got its start from a 2016 video of a vlogger eating “bat soup,” which was recirculated after the coronavirus outbreak, prompting outrage. The video was not filmed in Wuhan, as some people reported erroneously, but actually the South Pacific island, Palau, she told News Corp Australia.

Certain models of professional, tight-fitting respirators (such as the N95) can protect health care workers as they care for infected patients, but lightweight, disposable surgical masks don’t go far when it comes to protecting the general public, says Dr Nikhil Bhayani, an infectious diseases specialist. “They may provide some protection from large drops, sprays or splashes, but because they don’t fit tightly, they may allow tiny infected droplets to get into the nose, mouth or eyes,” he says. “Also, people with the virus on their hands who touch their faces under a mask might become infected.” The current recommendations for protecting yourself include washing your hands, avoiding touching your face.

All viruses, including the flu, cannot be treated with antibiotics—and the coronavirus is no different. Additionally, none of the antivirals that are for treating other viral illnesses work for the coronavirus. What does work for common cold symptoms and mild viruses, explains Dr Sharon Nachman, a paediatric infectious disease specialist, is getting plenty of fluids, resting and staying home so that your friends and neighbours don’t get sick from you.

Some people believe spraying themselves with sanitising products can help protect them from the coronavirus. This is untrue, according to Dr Frederick Davis, an emergency medicine specialist. “The coronavirus enters the body through mucous membranes like the mouth and nostrils, so spraying your body with alcohol, chlorine, or other surface disinfectants will not prevent infections,” he says. “While these substances can be effective means to disinfect surfaces and prevent transmission of viruses, the same chemicals on the skin can be harmful to a person and should not be applied in that manner.”

Doctors want you to stop believing these flu myths.

Chinese restaurants are seeing their businesses plummet. But, experts say there is absolutely no reason to stop going to your favourite food spots. “The virus is not racist and you shouldn’t be either,” says Dr Caesar Djavaherian, an emergency room doctor and co-founder of Carbon Health. “Coronavirus infects people of all ethnicities, not just the Asian community.”

Researchers are studying the new coronavirus to learn more about how it infects people. Most viruses, like this one, do not stay alive on surfaces for a prolonged time period, explains Dr Bhayani. “It is not likely that you would get COVID-19 from a package that was in transit for days or weeks,” he says. “The illness is most likely transmitted by droplets from an infected person’s sneeze or cough, but more information is emerging daily.”

So far, testing has been limited to individuals who travelled recently to countries with many COVID-19 cases or those who had been in close contact with someone who had the infection, but health experts are working hard to expand testing capabilities. The Food and Drug Administration in the US recently announced that it is aggressively expanding testing capabilities, and granted emergency authorisation to some public health laboratories so they could conduct more testing. At the moment, efforts to expand the availability of tests are underway but they may not be readily available at local hospitals.

While governments have issued guidelines for travellers going to China, as well as other areas that are seeing cases such as South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Italy, there is no travel ban of sorts for locations that are relatively unaffected by the coronavirus. (Cases have been reported on every continent except Antarctica.) In fact, the WHO advises against travel bans, noting that they tend to be ineffective when it comes to controlling outbreaks.

However, you should pay attention to travel advisories. “It is prudent for travellers who are sick to delay or avoid travel to affected areas, in particular for elderly travellers and people with chronic diseases or underlying health conditions,” says the WHO.

It’s important to remain vigilant of hygiene. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and wash your hands frequently to prevent the spread of infection to others. However, there’s no reason to cancel your travel plans at this time, depending on your level of comfort with the possible risk, your personal health, and the part of the world you are travelling to.

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Source: RD.com