WEBVTT - What Is Coronavirus?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb Here. There's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>scary news out there right now about coronavirus, so let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about it. Human coronaviruses are a large family of

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<v Speaker 1>viruses that can cause a variety of illnesses, ranging from

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<v Speaker 1>the common cold to severe diseases like Middle East Respiratory

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<v Speaker 1>syndrome a k A MERS and Severe Acute respiratory syndrome

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<v Speaker 1>a k A SARS. The World Health Organization says what's

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<v Speaker 1>being called novel coronavirus is a new strain that had

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<v Speaker 1>not been previously identified in humans until late nineteen. It's

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes called COVID nineteen for that reason. Human coronavirus was

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<v Speaker 1>first discovered in nine and accounts for many cases of

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<v Speaker 1>the common cold. The virus gets its name from its

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<v Speaker 1>crown like shape corona, meaning crown. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, which

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<v Speaker 1>means they're transmitted between non in animals and humans. CZARS

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<v Speaker 1>was transmitted from civic cats to humans, and researchers suspect

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<v Speaker 1>MERS is transmitted from dromedary camels to humans. But let's

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<v Speaker 1>be clear, coronaviruses affect all age groups of all people

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<v Speaker 1>around the world, and most are not dangerous. They often

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<v Speaker 1>only cause mild symptoms that can be treated with rest

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<v Speaker 1>and over the counter medications, and most of them spread

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<v Speaker 1>like any other. Cold viruses spread, including through the air

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<v Speaker 1>by coughing and sneezing, by close personal contact such as

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<v Speaker 1>touching or shaking hands with someone who's sick, or by

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<v Speaker 1>touching an object with the virus on it and then

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<v Speaker 1>touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. The U S Centers

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<v Speaker 1>for Disease Control or c d C says that people

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<v Speaker 1>in the US who get a coronavirus will usually get

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<v Speaker 1>infected in the fall and winter, though it can happen

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<v Speaker 1>any type of year, and most people will get infected

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<v Speaker 1>with one or more of the four common human coronaviruses

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<v Speaker 1>during their lifetime. Signs of infection with these common coronaviruses

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<v Speaker 1>include headache, running, nose fee cough, shortness of breath, and

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<v Speaker 1>sore throat, though severe cases can lead to pneumonia, acute

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<v Speaker 1>respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. But while these

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<v Speaker 1>four common strains are not typically severe, three others have

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<v Speaker 1>proven deadly. An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a

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<v Speaker 1>new coronavirus. The aforementioned novel coronavirus was first reported in

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<v Speaker 1>Wuhan City, China, in early January. Chinese health officials have

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<v Speaker 1>noted thousands of infections with novel coronavirus in China, and

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<v Speaker 1>infections were reported in several international locations, including the US.

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<v Speaker 1>Like other coronaviruses, the symptoms of novel coronavirus include fever,

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<v Speaker 1>difficulty breathing, and pneumonia, and the virus spreads via person

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<v Speaker 1>to person contact. At the time of this episode's release,

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<v Speaker 1>at least three thousand people have died and more than

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<v Speaker 1>eighty eight thousand, eight hundred people have been infected worldwide

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<v Speaker 1>with novel coronavirus. China was home to over eighty thousand

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<v Speaker 1>of these cases. The Chinese government took precedented steps to

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<v Speaker 1>curb the virus by placing almost sixty million people on

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<v Speaker 1>lockdown and banning travel to and from fifteen cities. The

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<v Speaker 1>United States has also implemented travel restrictions that went into

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<v Speaker 1>effect February third. The restrictions temporarily require any US citizen

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<v Speaker 1>returning to the States from China to a mandatory fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>day quarantine. While it's been reported that the virus might

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<v Speaker 1>have originated in a food market in Wuhan, the World

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<v Speaker 1>Health Organization says that not enough is known about this

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<v Speaker 1>strain to fully understand its features, how it's transmitted, or

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<v Speaker 1>its origins. For example, novel coronaviruses incubation period is still unknown.

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<v Speaker 1>Incubation meaning how long it takes between being infected with

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<v Speaker 1>the virus and coming down with symptoms. Health officials are

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<v Speaker 1>assuming it's about fourteen days, hence the travel quarantine. They're

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<v Speaker 1>not sure whether people are contagious during the incubation period.

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<v Speaker 1>People in areas where there are known cases of novel

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<v Speaker 1>coronavirus and take steps to protect themselves, though most of

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<v Speaker 1>these are good hygiene practices in general. For avoiding colds

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<v Speaker 1>and flues, you should avoid contact with sick people, coffin,

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<v Speaker 1>sneeze into a tissue, and immediately throw used tissues into

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<v Speaker 1>aligned trash. Can wash your hands often with soap and

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<v Speaker 1>water for at least twenty seconds, or use an alcohol

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<v Speaker 1>based hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't available. Avoid

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<v Speaker 1>touching your face and especially your eyes, nose, and mouth

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<v Speaker 1>with unwashed hands. If someone in your household is sick,

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<v Speaker 1>don't share cups, forks, towels, or betting with them, and

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<v Speaker 1>disinfect frequently touched common surfaces like door knobs. In areas

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<v Speaker 1>with novel coronavirus outbreaks, you're also advised to avoid wild animals,

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<v Speaker 1>alive or dead, animal markets, and products that come from

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<v Speaker 1>animals like uncooked meat. And again, in areas with outbreaks,

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<v Speaker 1>you can wear specialized, tight fitting, thick face masks like

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<v Speaker 1>the N nine respirator to prevent getting infected. On the

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<v Speaker 1>other hand, if you fact that you are already infected,

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<v Speaker 1>you can wear any kind of face mask to help

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<v Speaker 1>prevent transmission, or you can always just stay home. But

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<v Speaker 1>do note that if the virus has not been reported

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<v Speaker 1>in your area, face masks are unnecessary, and the CDC

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<v Speaker 1>is recommending against members of the general public using them

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<v Speaker 1>or even buying them. At this point. They're expensive, the

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<v Speaker 1>specialized ones are uncomfortable to wear, Stockpiling them may lead

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<v Speaker 1>to shortages within the medical community should there be an outbreak,

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<v Speaker 1>and again they're just not needed. Most of all, don't

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<v Speaker 1>panic and educate yourself before spending money or time or worry.

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<v Speaker 1>If there have been no reported infections in your area.

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<v Speaker 1>You're not going to get novel coronavirus from eating food

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<v Speaker 1>from local restaurants, whether they serve Chinese cuisine or not.

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<v Speaker 1>Even though coronaviruses can transmit between humans and other animals,

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't need a face mask, neither does your dog,

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<v Speaker 1>and the virus has nothing to do with Corona beer

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<v Speaker 1>other than the thing where someone at the beer company

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<v Speaker 1>also found the word corona to be symbolic m Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Sarah Glime and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other topics, visit

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