30 facts about novel coronavirus pneumonia

1. The novel coronavirus pneumonia is a new coronavirus belonging to β genus. Current research shows that its homology with bat SARS-like coronavirus (bat-SL-CoVZC45) is more than 85 percent.

2. The virus is sensitive to ultraviolet light and heat.

3. The virus can be inactivated at 56 C for 30 minutes. Ethyl ether, 75 percent ethanol, chlorine disinfectant, peracetic acid, and chloroform are known to be effective as well.

4. Chlorhexidine has been found to be ineffective in inactivating the virus.

5. Patients infected with the new coronavirus are the major source of infection in others.

6. Asymptomatic carriers can also be a source of transmission.

7. Asymptomatic cases have a weaker transmissibility. According to Li Xingwang, a member of China's national medical expert team against the coronavirus, those patients without symptoms are less contagious as they carry a low viral load. People usually catch the disease through close contact with infected patients, which is often the case among family members.

8. Zhong Nanshan, a leading expert tackling the virus, said, "Early detection and early isolation are currently the most effective ways to prevent and control the epidemic."

9. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the current outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus does not constitute a global epidemic at this stage.

10. The major routes of the coronavirus infection are respiratory droplets and contact transmission.

11. The transmission routes of the novel coronavirus through aerosols and digestive tracts have yet to be confirmed.

12. All age groups including children are susceptible to novel coronavirus pneumonia.

13. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 14 days, with most patients starting to get symptoms within 3 to 7 days.

14. Major symptoms are fever, fatigue and dry cough.

15. A minority of patients also show symptoms such as stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat and diarrhea.

16. Patients in a serious or critical condition may have low grade or moderate fever. Some may not even have a fever at all.

17. Patients with mild symptoms show low grade fever, mild fatigue and no signs of pneumonia.

18. Based on current cases in treatment, most patients improve after intervention, while the conditions of a minority worsen. Seniors and those with chronic diseases respond poorly to intervention. Children's symptoms are comparatively mild.

19. According to Liu Qingquan, a member of the National Health Commission (NHC) expert team, the cure rate of novel coronavirus pneumonia is higher than that of Influenza A virus and bird flu.

20. Currently no effective treatment protocol for novel coronavirus pneumonia has been found.

21. Avoid the inappropriate use of antibiotics, especially the use of more than one broad-spectrum antibiotic at the same time.

22. A patient can end the isolation and be discharged from hospital when

1) a normal body temperature has been detected for three consecutive days;

2) respiratory symptoms have substantially improved;

3) an image of the lungs shows inflammation has been drastically reduced;

4) negative results of Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) have been identified in two consecutive tests separated by a minimum one-day interval.

23. Qiu Haibo, a member of the NHC expert team, indicates that based on the current clinical experience, patients at the recovery stage or discharged from hospital are not contagious.

24. No viral mutation of novel coronavirus pneumonia has yet been detected.

25. According to the WHO, there is no evidence of novel coronavirus pneumonia in dogs or cats.

26. Patients who have recovered from novel coronavirus pneumonia are still at risk of contracting the disease. Zhan Qingyuan, leader of the medical team for pneumonia prevention and control at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital says that the infection of a virus causes antibodies to develop in the body but some antibodies only last a short period of time. So patients should still watch out for the disease even after they are cured.

27. The vast majority of novel coronavirus pneumonia infected patients only get mild symptoms.

28. Don't take medication for an illness you don't have.

29. Not everyone needs to wear a N95 mask. A medical surgical mask is enough if one uses it for daily self-protection, or plans to go to general open places. However, if you have to contact patients with suspected respiratory infections, a N95 type of mask is needed.

30. Jiang Rongmeng, a member of the NHC expert team, says that viruses usually do not float through the air for long but fall quickly and settle on the ground once they leave the human body.