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what you need to know

COVID – 19The International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia (IIfPHC – E) is closely monitoring the evolving COVID – 19 pandemic and is dedicated to providing users with the most up-to-date information on the virus and related resources to support leaders, frontline workers, and communities in their response.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW What is Coronavirus (COVID -19)?

While the name of the disease is COronaVIrus Disease 2019 also known as COVID-19; the name of the virus causing the diseased is named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS – CoV 2). ‘Corona’ is Latin for crown. Coronavirus refers to the family of viruses that the disease belongs to and are named for their crown-like shapes with spikes ending in little blobs.           There are many different coronaviruses ranging from the common cold to MERS coronavirus, which is Middle East Respiratory coronavirus and SARs, Sever Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. (insert flyer of the different diseases) COVID -19 is a newly identified type that has caused a recent outbreak of respiratory illness in human.

How does coronavirus affect the human body? What are the symptoms?

1. The virus enters the body through the mouth, eyes or nose.
  1. After entering the body, the virus spreads to the back of the nasal passage and to mucous membranes
3. Then it enters human body cells using its crown-like spikes. Subsequently, the virus delays the normal immune system response and replicates itself, allowing the infection to gain foothold in the body
Sore Throat
Dry Cough
Mild Fever
  1. Mild to Moderate Case Symptoms

Symptoms often start in the back of the throat with a SORE THROAT and a DRY COUGH. As a way of supporting the immune system to ensure that it takes appropriate action against the offending coronavirus, the body’s core temperature rises causing a MILD FEVER.

5. The virus then moves from the back of the throat down to the bronchial tubes towards the lungs. The lining of the respiratory tree becomes injured, causing inflammation.

 6. If infection gets worst, it goes past just the lining of the airway and goes to the gas exchange units, which are at the end of the air passages.

7. Lungs then respond to this evasion by pouring out inflammatory material into the air sacs that are at the bottom of our lungs.

8. Pneumonia: when air sacs get infected, they pour out inflammatory materials causing them to get filled with fluids and pus and get inflamed.

  1. Sever Case Symptoms
Continuous Cough this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if someone usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual) High Grade Fever As the body increase its efforts in fighting the intruders, the core body temperature equally goes up. Shortness of Breath Swelling (inflammation) and mucus make it harder to move air through the airways, making it harder to breathe. This leads to shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and feeling more tired than normal.
  1. Critical Case of COVID-19
Lungs that become filled with inflammatory material are unable to get enough oxygen to the bloodstream, reducing the body’s ability to take on oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. Multiple organs fail due to lack of oxygen, inflammation and septic shock.

According to several different data, Covid -19 is mild in 80 percent of patients, sever in 13 percent of patients and critical in 6 percent.

If covid-19 isn’t very severe and kills only a small percentage of people, why is it so dangerous?

Covid-19 is transmitted much more readily between humans than any other known coronavirus disease outbreaks such as SARS – CoV and MERS – CoV.

How is COVID – 19 spread?

Being a respiratory virus, it’s transmitted through respiratory droplets. Thousands of viral droplets, a droplet containing viral particles, are ejected from the mouth and/or the nose as the infected subject coughs or sneezes.  If they don’t hit something along the way, they typically land on the floor or the ground.

Person to Person

But if another uninfected individual is standing less that 6 feet away from the source of ejection, the viral droplets will reach and enter through the eyes, the nose or the mouth of that person and gains access to their cells.

Contact with the skin of someone who has the virus

When an infected person sneezes or coughs into their hands, viral droplets are left on the surface of their skin. Through a simple handshake, the virus is transferred to the healthy persons’ palm. At this point the healthy subject is not infected since coronavirus cannot be absorbed through skin. However, if the healthy subject touches their face (eyes, nose and mouth), the virus can enter the person’s body and eventually make them sick.

Contact with contaminated surfaces or objects

It is also possible that a person gets COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.

How to protect yourself and others?

Take steps to protect yourself Take steps to protect others

Stay Home

The most effective way to protect against coronavirus is to minimise encounters with other people by staying at home.

Practice Social Distancing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping a distance of six feet from other people to minimize the possibility of infection.

Avoid Handshakes

If it happens that a person fails to take into account the social distancing moral responsibility and they come in a close proximity to an infected person the worst thing they can do is shake their hand allowing the virus to spread through contact. People should consider many other alternatives to handshakes to greet each other.

Frequent and Proper Hand Washing

To fend off any virus that might have made it to a persons’ hand, frequently hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 second is a key public health practice that most effectively kills invisible pathogens on once hand.

Brake Face – Touching Habits

Once the virus has made it to an uninfected persons hand through handshaking with infected person or by touching an infected surface, the worst thing they can do is touch their face prior to washing their hands allowing the virus to get access to the eye, nose and mouth and entering the body.

Watch for Symptoms Associated with COVID – 19

The similarity of symptoms caused by most respiratory infections (common cold, flu and COVID – 19) has many people wondering whether or not they have been infected with the novel coronavirus. If testing is not available, here are the steps you can take to avoid infecting others.

Stay Home

The most effective way to protect against coronavirus is to minimise encounters with other people by staying at home.

Practice Social Distancing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping a distance of six feet from other people to minimize the possibility of infection.

Practice Respiratory Hygiene

If order to mitigate the spread, it is highly recommended for people with flu like symptoms to cough or sneeze into their elbows. WHO also recommends that people sneeze or cough into a tissue then wash they hands throughly after properly disposing the used tissue. This gesture allows viral droplet to deposit on the persons own cloth or tissue instead of another person or the environment.

Wear a Mask

If an uninfected subject is likely to be in close contact with someone infected, wearing a mask can lower the risk of the diseases being passed on through droplet projection. Individuals who are showing flu-like symptoms that might or might not be related to COVID – 19 infection should also wear a mask in order to protect others.

Avoid Handshakes

If it happens that a person fails to take into account the social distancing moral responsibility and they come in a close proximity to an infected person the worst thing they can do is shake their hand allowing the virus to spread through contact. People should consider many other alternatives to handshakes to greet each other.

Frequent and Proper Hand Washing

To fend off any virus that might have made it to a persons’ hand, frequently hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 second is a key public health practice that most effectively kills invisible pathogens on once hand.

Watch for Symptoms Associated with COVID – 19

The similarity of symptoms caused by most respiratory infections (common cold, flu and COVID – 19) has many people wondering whether or not they have been infected with the novel coronavirus. If testing is not available, here are the steps you can take to avoid infecting others.

Stay Home

The most effective way to protect against coronavirus is to minimise encounters with other people by staying at home.

Practice Social Distancing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping a distance of six feet from other people to minimize the possibility of infection.

Practice Respiratory Hygiene

If order to mitigate the spread, it is highly recommended for people with flu like symptoms to cough or sneeze into their elbows. WHO also recommends that people sneeze or cough into a tissue then wash they hands throughly after properly disposing the used tissue. This gesture allows viral droplet to deposit on the persons own cloth or tissue instead of another person or the environment.

Wear a Mask

If an uninfected subject is likely to be in close contact with someone infected, wearing a mask can lower the risk of the diseases being passed on through droplet projection. Individuals who are showing flu-like symptoms that might or might not be related to COVID – 19 infection should also wear a mask in order to protect others.

Avoid Handshakes

If it happens that a person fails to take into account the social distancing moral responsibility and they come in a close proximity to an infected person the worst thing they can do is shake their hand allowing the virus to spread through contact. People should consider many other alternatives to handshakes to greet each other.

Frequent and Proper Hand Washing

To fend off any virus that might have made it to a persons’ hand, frequently hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 second is a key public health practice that most effectively kills invisible pathogens on once hand.

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Web Admin
Web Admin
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Luidina comes from nursing background, having trained in the United States. At IIfPHC, she handles all external communication and public relations. Being multilingual makes her a good asset to the Institute in terms of building deep and meaningful relationships with foreign communities and developing targeted presentations to communicate key messaging and initiatives.

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