Coronavirus: The Words You Need To Understand the News
Coronavirus: The Words You Need To Understand the News
The situation of the coronavirus
outbreak is changing fast. And news and information about the disease can be
overwhelming, not least of which are the many new, confusing, and technical
terms being used about the outbreak. Understanding these terms is essential to
helping people stay informed and safe—and we take seriously our role in
defining and explaining them for you.
In addition to our in-depth articles on
pandemic vs. epidemic, quarantine vs. isolation, respirator vs. ventilator, and
COVID-19, we have put together a glossary of some of the most important terms
about COVID-19 to keep you up-to-date and in-the-know. We will continue
updating the glossary as needed as the situation evolves.
asymptomatic
Asymptomatic means “showing no evidence
of disease.”
Just because a person is asymptomatic
doesn’t mean they aren’t infected with COVID-19.
chloroquine
Chloroquine is a drug used to treat
malaria. It is being explored and tested as a possible treatment for the novel
coronavirus.
While malaria is caused by a parasite
(transmitted by mosquitoes), chloroquine has proven effective in treating SARS,
a disease caused by a coronavirus closely related to the one that causes
COVID-19. That’s why chloroquine is being tried out as a treatment for
COVID-19.
community spread
Community spread is spread of a disease
where the infection source is unknown.
According to the CDC, many sources of
COVID-19 are due to exposure to a returned traveler who was infected.
communicable
Communicable means “capable of being
easily communicated (spread) or transmitted.” COVID-19 is a communicable
disease.
coronavirus
Coronavirus refers to any of various
RNA-containing spherical viruses of the family Coronaviridae, including several
that cause acute respiratory illnesses.
Notable types of coronavirus are SARS,
MERS, and COVID-19. COVID-19 is popularly referred to as (the) coronavirus or
corona for short. COVID-19 is referred to as the novel coronavirus because it
is a new (novel) virus (i.e., it hasn’t been detected before). Novel
coronavirus can be abbreviated as nCoV.
When looked at under a microscope,
coronaviruses appear to be surrounded by a spiky array thought to look like a
corona, or a crown-like shape, hence the name coronavirus.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is a highly infectious
respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus. The disease was discovered in
China in December 2019 and has since spread around the world.
COVID is short for coronavirus disease.
The number 19 refers to the fact that the disease was first detected in 2019.
The technical name of the virus that
causes COVID-19 is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, abbreviated
as SARS-CoV-2.
epidemic
An epidemic is a temporary prevalence of
a disease spreading from person to person in a locality where that disease is
not permanently prevalent.
epidemiology
Epidemiology is the branch of medicine
dealing with the incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations and
with detection of the source and cause of epidemics of infectious disease.
An epidemiologist is a person who
studies or is an expert in epidemiology.
exponential
When a disease, such as COVID-19,
spreads exponentially, that generally means the number of cases of infection
increase steadily but rapidly. Without containment, such exponential spread
results in a large number of infections even when an area has a small number of
cases to begin with.
For example, say the number of cases of
a disease doubles every day and you start with one case. The next day there
will be two cases, the day after four cases, the following day eight cases, and
so on. It does not take long to reach high numbers of cases: by two weeks, you
already have over 16,000 cases.
Exponential growth means that the amount
of new cases over a given time period is proportional to the number of cases
already present. In our above example, that proportion is doubling. Such growth
can be illustrated using an exponential curve, represented by the function
y=2x, where the superscript x (called an exponent, the power to which 2 is
raised) represents the number of days that have passed.
flatten the curve
Flatten the curve means slowing the
spread of an epidemic disease so that the capacity of the healthcare system
doesn’t become overwhelmed. The curve represents the number of cases over time,
and flattening that curve means preventing a huge surge of new cases in a very
short period of time.
furlough
A furlough is a usually temporary layoff
from work.
During the coronavirus outbreak, many workers
were furloughed as businesses conducting non-essential activities were closed.
This was done to prevent the spread of the disease by banning large gatherings
as a form of social distancing.
herd immunity
Herd immunity is the immunity or
resistance to a particular infection that occurs in a group of people or
animals when a very high percentage of individuals have been vaccinated or
previously exposed to the infection.
immunity
Immunity is the state of being immune
from (“protected from a disease”) or insusceptible to a particular disease; the
condition that permits either natural or acquired resistance to disease.
Humans don’t currently have immunity to
COVID-19.
immunocompromised
Immunocompromised means having an
impaired or compromised immune response; also referred to as immune-compromised
or immunodeficient.
incubation period
Incubation period means the period
between infection and the appearance of signs of a disease.
isolation
Isolation is the complete separation
from others of a person suffering from contagious or infectious disease.
In public health, isolation happens when
a person is infected with a communicable disease, and is separated from people
who are healthy. This helps stop the spread of disease.
Self-isolation is voluntary isolation.
Note that everyday people may use self-isolation when they aren’t infected and
are social distancing.
mitigation
Disease mitigation are measures taken to
slow the spread of infection. Quarantine, isolation, and social distancing are
forms of mitigation.
Washing your hands with soap for at
least 20 seconds is one important thing to do to help prevent the spread, or
mitigate, COVID-19.
pandemic
A pandemic is a disease prevalent
throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world. A pandemic is an epidemic
that has spread over a large area.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
specifically uses pandemic to refer to new diseases people do not have immunity
for and that have spread worldwide. The WHO has declared the coronavirus
outbreak a pandemic.
Pandemic can be both a noun and an
adjective (e.g., a pandemic disease).
physical distancing
Physical distancing is an alternative
term for social distancing. Its use is being increasingly encouraged by some
health professionals because the term emphasizes the importance of maintaining
physical distance between people to help stop the spread of the disease. The
term also emphasizes that people should still socialize using digital
technology and social media while they are separated physically.
quarantine
Quarantine is a strict isolation imposed
to prevent the spread of disease.
In public health, people are placed in
quarantine when they are not currently sick, but have been or may have been
exposed to a communicable disease. This helps stop the spread of the disease.
Self-quarantine is when someone isn’t
ordered to go into quarantine but chooses to do so out of caution; also called
voluntary quarantine.
respirator
A respirator is a masklike device,
usually of gauze, worn over the mouth (or nose and mouth) to prevent the
inhalation of noxious substances or the like.
To help protect them from COVID-19,
health professionals wear respirators to filter out virus particles as they
breathe in so they don’t get infected and can help patients. For these
professionals, the CDC specifically recommends using what are called N95
respirators, which fit more tightly around the nose and mouth than medical or
surgical masks.
Respiration is breathing, the inhalation
and exhalation or air. Respiratory means “pertaining to respiration,” as in a
respiratory disease like COVID-19.
screening
Screening is examining a person to see
if they have a disease. This frequently involves taking their temperature,
asking about symptoms, and asking about potential exposures to infected people.
shelter in place
In general, shelter in place is an order
to stay in a safe place indoors due to an emergency (e.g., extreme weather,
chemical hazard) until given permission by authorities to evacuate. The
specifics of a shelter-in-place order varies depending on the emergency.
During the coronavirus outbreak, shelter
in place refers to orders for people to stay at home and not leave unless
absolutely necessary. They are put into place to prevent the further spread of
the disease and allow health professionals to more effectively treat patients.
Six counties in the California Bay Area,
including those affecting San Francisco and Oakland, notably issued a shelter
in place effective March 17 until at least April 7, 2020. For the Bay Area
shelter in place, reasons considered necessary to leave a place of residence
include essential activities such as getting groceries, seeking medical
attention, picking up medicine, and taking a pet to the vet for an emergency.
People conducting essential business (such as grocery stores, pharmacies,
banks, and gas stations allowed to stay open) and providing essential services
(e.g., health professionals, waste management workers) are also permitted to
leave. People are also permitted to exercise outside the house as long as they
practiced social distancing. Violating the order is punishable by a fine or
jail.
An order to shelter in place is
different from a secure in place or lockdown, which more strictly forbids
people to leave a location during an emergency. These measures are sometimes
popularly described as draconian, or very harsh and severe.
social distancing
Social distancing refers to measures
that reduce contact between large groups of people.
Social distancing measures often entail
canceling big gatherings (such as conferences, classes, church services,
concerts, and sporting events), restricting mass transit and travel, and
working from home.
The CDC specifically recommends
maintaining a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) between people.
During the coronavirus outbreak, people
commonly spoke or wrote of hunkering down at home as they practiced social
distancing.
symptom
Symptom is a phenomenon that arises from
and accompanies a particular disease or disorder and serves as an indication of
it.
Major symptoms of COVID-19 include
fever, dry cough, fatigue, and difficulty breathing.
ventilator
A ventilator is a machine that helps a
patient breathe. It pumps oxygen into the lungs and removes carbon dioxide
through a tube.
In medicine, ventilate can refer to
oxygenating the blood (i.e., supplying it with oxygen) or helping someone
breathe using a mechanical ventilator.
Because COVID-19 is a respiratory
disease, it can cause lung inflammation, which makes it hard for patients to
breathe. That’s why ventilators are necessary to help treat some patients with
the infection, depending on the severity of their symptoms.
Ventilators are sometimes referred to as
respirators. However, ventilators technically refer to machines that help
patients breathe, not the protective respirators nurses and doctors wear.
virus
A virus is an infectious agent that
replicates only within the cells of living hosts, mainly bacteria, plants, and
animals.
Viruses are composed of an RNA or DNA
core, a protein coat, and, in more complex types, a surrounding envelope. They
are ultramicroscopic, 20 to 300 nanometers (nm) in length. A nanometer is one
billionth of a meter. Viruses are also metabolically inert, which is why they
only can replicate themselves in cells of living hosts.
COVID-19 spreads through droplets from
the mouth and nose of a person with COVID-19 after coughing, sneezing,
exhaling, talking, etc.
WHO
WHO stands for the World Health
Organization, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to the WHO, its main role is
… to direct and coordinate international
health within the United Nations system. Our main areas of work are health
systems; health through the life-course; noncommunicable and communicable
diseases; preparedness, surveillance and response; and corporate services.
zoonotic
Zoonotic means “relating to any disease
of animals communicable to humans.” The noun form is zoonosis.
The source of COVID-19 is believed to be
an animal, which makes it a zoonotic disease.
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