1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,560
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

2
00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,119
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb Here. There's a lot of

3
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,880
Speaker 1: scary news out there right now about coronavirus, so let's

4
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,439
Speaker 1: talk about it. Human coronaviruses are a large family of

5
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,920
Speaker 1: viruses that can cause a variety of illnesses, ranging from

6
00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,440
Speaker 1: the common cold to severe diseases like Middle East Respiratory

7
00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,320
Speaker 1: syndrome a k A MERS and Severe Acute respiratory syndrome

8
00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,360
Speaker 1: a k A SARS. The World Health Organization says what's

9
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,879
Speaker 1: being called novel coronavirus is a new strain that had

10
00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:40,040
Speaker 1: not been previously identified in humans until late nineteen. It's

11
00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:45,640
Speaker 1: sometimes called COVID nineteen for that reason. Human coronavirus was

12
00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,159
Speaker 1: first discovered in nine and accounts for many cases of

13
00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,160
Speaker 1: the common cold. The virus gets its name from its

14
00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:58,000
Speaker 1: crown like shape corona, meaning crown. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, which

15
00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,480
Speaker 1: means they're transmitted between non in animals and humans. CZARS

16
00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,120
Speaker 1: was transmitted from civic cats to humans, and researchers suspect

17
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,920
Speaker 1: MERS is transmitted from dromedary camels to humans. But let's

18
00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,800
Speaker 1: be clear, coronaviruses affect all age groups of all people

19
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,720
Speaker 1: around the world, and most are not dangerous. They often

20
00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,440
Speaker 1: only cause mild symptoms that can be treated with rest

21
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 1: and over the counter medications, and most of them spread

22
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,160
Speaker 1: like any other. Cold viruses spread, including through the air

23
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,399
Speaker 1: by coughing and sneezing, by close personal contact such as

24
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,119
Speaker 1: touching or shaking hands with someone who's sick, or by

25
00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,280
Speaker 1: touching an object with the virus on it and then

26
00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,280
Speaker 1: touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. The U S Centers

27
00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,080
Speaker 1: for Disease Control or c d C says that people

28
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,560
Speaker 1: in the US who get a coronavirus will usually get

29
00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,680
Speaker 1: infected in the fall and winter, though it can happen

30
00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,840
Speaker 1: any type of year, and most people will get infected

31
00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,960
Speaker 1: with one or more of the four common human coronaviruses

32
00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:58,200
Speaker 1: during their lifetime. Signs of infection with these common coronaviruses

33
00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,720
Speaker 1: include headache, running, nose fee cough, shortness of breath, and

34
00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,400
Speaker 1: sore throat, though severe cases can lead to pneumonia, acute

35
00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:10,720
Speaker 1: respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. But while these

36
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,720
Speaker 1: four common strains are not typically severe, three others have

37
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,680
Speaker 1: proven deadly. An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a

38
00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,120
Speaker 1: new coronavirus. The aforementioned novel coronavirus was first reported in

39
00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,720
Speaker 1: Wuhan City, China, in early January. Chinese health officials have

40
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,120
Speaker 1: noted thousands of infections with novel coronavirus in China, and

41
00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 1: infections were reported in several international locations, including the US.

42
00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,400
Speaker 1: Like other coronaviruses, the symptoms of novel coronavirus include fever,

43
00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,360
Speaker 1: difficulty breathing, and pneumonia, and the virus spreads via person

44
00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,359
Speaker 1: to person contact. At the time of this episode's release,

45
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,520
Speaker 1: at least three thousand people have died and more than

46
00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,560
Speaker 1: eighty eight thousand, eight hundred people have been infected worldwide

47
00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,280
Speaker 1: with novel coronavirus. China was home to over eighty thousand

48
00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,000
Speaker 1: of these cases. The Chinese government took precedented steps to

49
00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,800
Speaker 1: curb the virus by placing almost sixty million people on

50
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,280
Speaker 1: lockdown and banning travel to and from fifteen cities. The

51
00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,480
Speaker 1: United States has also implemented travel restrictions that went into

52
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:16,760
Speaker 1: effect February third. The restrictions temporarily require any US citizen

53
00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,120
Speaker 1: returning to the States from China to a mandatory fourteen

54
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,800
Speaker 1: day quarantine. While it's been reported that the virus might

55
00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,560
Speaker 1: have originated in a food market in Wuhan, the World

56
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,160
Speaker 1: Health Organization says that not enough is known about this

57
00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,760
Speaker 1: strain to fully understand its features, how it's transmitted, or

58
00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:39,840
Speaker 1: its origins. For example, novel coronaviruses incubation period is still unknown.

59
00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,200
Speaker 1: Incubation meaning how long it takes between being infected with

60
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,040
Speaker 1: the virus and coming down with symptoms. Health officials are

61
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,880
Speaker 1: assuming it's about fourteen days, hence the travel quarantine. They're

62
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,400
Speaker 1: not sure whether people are contagious during the incubation period.

63
00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,000
Speaker 1: People in areas where there are known cases of novel

64
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,600
Speaker 1: coronavirus and take steps to protect themselves, though most of

65
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,560
Speaker 1: these are good hygiene practices in general. For avoiding colds

66
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,240
Speaker 1: and flues, you should avoid contact with sick people, coffin,

67
00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,560
Speaker 1: sneeze into a tissue, and immediately throw used tissues into

68
00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,920
Speaker 1: aligned trash. Can wash your hands often with soap and

69
00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,839
Speaker 1: water for at least twenty seconds, or use an alcohol

70
00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,799
Speaker 1: based hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't available. Avoid

71
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,320
Speaker 1: touching your face and especially your eyes, nose, and mouth

72
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,320
Speaker 1: with unwashed hands. If someone in your household is sick,

73
00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,720
Speaker 1: don't share cups, forks, towels, or betting with them, and

74
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:38,080
Speaker 1: disinfect frequently touched common surfaces like door knobs. In areas

75
00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,960
Speaker 1: with novel coronavirus outbreaks, you're also advised to avoid wild animals,

76
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,080
Speaker 1: alive or dead, animal markets, and products that come from

77
00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:50,920
Speaker 1: animals like uncooked meat. And again, in areas with outbreaks,

78
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,040
Speaker 1: you can wear specialized, tight fitting, thick face masks like

79
00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,120
Speaker 1: the N nine respirator to prevent getting infected. On the

80
00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,760
Speaker 1: other hand, if you fact that you are already infected,

81
00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:03,920
Speaker 1: you can wear any kind of face mask to help

82
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,880
Speaker 1: prevent transmission, or you can always just stay home. But

83
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,400
Speaker 1: do note that if the virus has not been reported

84
00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,760
Speaker 1: in your area, face masks are unnecessary, and the CDC

85
00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 1: is recommending against members of the general public using them

86
00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,200
Speaker 1: or even buying them. At this point. They're expensive, the

87
00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,880
Speaker 1: specialized ones are uncomfortable to wear, Stockpiling them may lead

88
00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,719
Speaker 1: to shortages within the medical community should there be an outbreak,

89
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,280
Speaker 1: and again they're just not needed. Most of all, don't

90
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,880
Speaker 1: panic and educate yourself before spending money or time or worry.

91
00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,440
Speaker 1: If there have been no reported infections in your area.

92
00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,799
Speaker 1: You're not going to get novel coronavirus from eating food

93
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,760
Speaker 1: from local restaurants, whether they serve Chinese cuisine or not.

94
00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,120
Speaker 1: Even though coronaviruses can transmit between humans and other animals,

95
00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,800
Speaker 1: if you don't need a face mask, neither does your dog,

96
00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,160
Speaker 1: and the virus has nothing to do with Corona beer

97
00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,599
Speaker 1: other than the thing where someone at the beer company

98
00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:05,600
Speaker 1: also found the word corona to be symbolic m Today's

99
00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,120
Speaker 1: episode was written by Sarah Glime and produced by Tyler Clang.

100
00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,200
Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other topics, visit

101
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,760
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of

102
00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,640
Speaker 1: iHeart Radio. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit

103
00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,440
Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

104
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:19,320
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows,