The first case was documented on May 2, 2014 by the U.S. centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus had been brought to the states by a man from Indiana who had travelled to Saudi Arabia, where the illness is much more common. The illness is believed to be so common in the middle east due to the virus being a zoonotic virus, meaning it can jump from an animal to a human. Camels are affected by the coronavirus and have been identified as carriers.

There are different strands of the disease which have different symptoms, all affect the respiratory system. Four of the strains; 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1, are more mild and feel more like a cold with symptoms of a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever and chills. Other strands of the coronavirus, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, are much more intense and may lead to death due to pneumonia or kidney failure, however these are much less common and the SARS strand actually hasn’t been reported since 2004.

A SARS outbreak occurred in 2002 due to a new strand that doctors did not understand. The virus spread to 32 countries during its course and infected 8,500 people and killed 800. Luckily this strain is not around anymore.

In order to fully diagnose it, local healthcare providers have to order lab tests on the respiratory specimens as well as blood tests. Due to the coronavirus primarily hailing from the Arabian Peninsula, many doctors in the states may not be inclined to hand out these tests and would instead diagnosis it as a bad cold.

The coronavirus spreads like a normal cold, including through the air by coughing or sneezing or personal contact. It is a common illness in the fall or winter times and is going around the park cities currently.

Treatment is very similar to that of a normal cold, including taking Advil, a lot of rest, drinking a lot of water, allergy pills and humidifiers.

The coronavirus was first discovered in the 60’s and is named after the corona, or crown in Latin and Spanish, due to the crown like spikes on their surface.

The coronavirus is also found in chickens. Not only does it affect their respiratory system how does it ours, it can also spread to different organs of their body. The virus also affects other animals, mainly domesticated pets or farm animals, but most commonly affects the chicken.