According to scientists, Snakes and Cobra may be the source of the newly found 2019-nCoV coronavirus that led to an outbreak of infectious respiratory illness in China.
The outbreak was first identified in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a big city in central China, and has transmitted fast.
Infected travelers from Wuhan have transmitted the virus in China and to other countries which includes Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States. 2019-nCoV is not the first virus to have led to an outbreak. Here are other virus or bacteria that caused global outbreaks:
Ebola
As reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), Ebola was believed to have emanated from fruit bats. Other animal hosts like chimpanzees, monkeys, gorillas, porcupines, and forest antelopes could infect humans.
Since its discovery in 1976, most of the Ebola outbreaks occurred in Africa, according to a study carried out by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, it has killed over 11,000 people.
HIV/AIDS
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is thought to have been passed from a type of chimpanzee to humans in Central Africa, as reported by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Transmission can happen after the body fluids like breast milk, saliva, blood, vaginal secretions, and semen have been exchanged.
Plague
Plagues had been in existence for centuries. An epidemic of bubonic plague (the Black Death) killed an estimated 25 million people, originating from China and escalating to Europe, beginning from 1334 to the late 1340s.
All continents have experienced a plague which is one of the deadliest diseases in the history of humans except for Oceania.
SARS
Discovered in 2003, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus is thought to have emanated from bats and later spread to other animals. SARS has no cure, but there are medications like antibiotics, breathing assistance, antiviral medicines, and steroids.
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MERS
Discovered in 2012, the origins of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) - coronavirus are not well understood, nevertheless, the genomes advocate that it emanated in bats and moved to camels.
Findings have revealed that humans were infected through contact with infected camels (either direct or indirect). MERS was reported in 27 countries but was not as common as SARS.
Rabies
Nearly 99 percent of rabies transmissions are through dogs, although bats make up for the majority of America's human rabies deaths.
Most deaths relating to rabies happened in Africa and Asia, which accounts for 95 percent of rabies deaths in the world.
Influenza
A number of animals can spread influenza, as it was seen with swine flu and avian. The World Health Organization said direct contact with contaminated environments or animals that are infected is how these viruses are transferred.
According to the United States CDC, influenza symptoms include cough, fevers, sore throat, chills, runny nose, body aches, headaches, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Nipah Virus
Nipah virus can be transferred from contaminated foods or animals (such as bats or pigs) to humans, and can also be passed directly from human to human. A natural host of the Nipah virus is the Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family.
The Nipah virus was first seen in 1999 during an outburst between pig farmers in Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been announced in Malaysia since then.
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