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How the Coronavirus Affects Your Body

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Coronavirus attacking the body 3d illustration | Featured

It’s no surprise that the novel coronavirus has caused panic in many parts of the world – especially because of its effects on the human body.

The COVID-19 epidemic has killed more than 1,500 people – surpassing the SARS death toll. According to a leading epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, the COVID-19 could infect 60 percent of the globe if left unchecked. National Geographic reported that “the new strain is so genetically similar to SARS that it has inherited the title SARS-CoV-2.”

Here are a few notes on what the COVID-19 can do to the human body.

As coronaviruses are respiratory diseases, the COVID-19 begins and ends in the lungs for most patients. The viruses are spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. During the early days of infection, the novel coronavirus will rapidly invade human lung cells. The two classes of those lung cells are ones that make mucus and ones with hair-like batons called cilia.

When it comes to the stomach, nearly a quarter of patients had diarrhea during the SARS and MERS outbreaks. However, University of Maryland School of Medicine associate professor Matthew B. Frieman says that it is still not clear whether gastrointestinal symptoms play a major part in the latest outbreak. Nonetheless, as reported by National Geographic, when any virus enters the human body, it looks for human cells “with its favorite doorways—proteins on the outside of the cells called receptors. If the virus finds a compatible receptor on a cell, it can invade.”

While some viruses are particular about which door to choose, others are promiscuous. “They can very easily penetrate into all types of cells,” says Anna Suk-Fong Lok, assistant dean for clinical research at the University of Michigan Medical School and former president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

The SARS and MERS viruses can access the cells that line your intestines and large and small colon. Frieman says we don’t know yet if the novel coronavirus does the same.

A zoonotic coronavirus that spreads from the respiratory system usually means that the liver will also suffer. “Doctors have seen indications of liver injury with SARS, MERS, and COVID-19—often mild, though more severe cases have led to severe liver damage and even liver failure,” said National Geographic.

“Once a virus gets into your bloodstream, they can swim to any part of your body,” Lok says. “The liver is a very vascular organ so [a coronavirus] can very easily get into your liver.” According to Lok, scientists don’t completely understand how these respiratory viruses behave in the liver. “The virus might be directly infecting the liver, replicating and killing off the cells itself. Or those cells might be collateral damage as your body’s immune response to the virus sets off a severe inflammatory reaction in the liver,” explained National Geographic.

The kidney can also be affected by the novel coronavirus. Six percent of SARS patients—and a full quarter of MERS patients—suffered acute renal injury. Studies show that the novel coronavirus can do the same. Acute renal failure can also sometimes be brought on by antibiotics, multi-organ failure, or being connected to a ventilator for too long.

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