Introduction
COVID-19 becomes ranked among the leading cause of fatalities worldwide. It is a communicable respiratory disease caused by coronavirus 2 syndromes (SARS-CoV2). Since its outbreak in 2019 in Wuhan, China, the disease has spread significantly to many countries worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic spectrum varies from asymptomatic, docile, rational, and severe to precarious disease. Some of the common symptoms of COVID-19 include loss of smell and taste, tiredness, cough, fever, sore throat, chest pain, and difficulty in breathing. The global case fatality proportion of COVID-19 approximates about 2.3%. Besides, most deaths include victims with underlying health issues and the elderly. The COVID-19 disease has global epidemiological attributes such as a 10% mortality ratio, progressive pattern from mild to severe, and becomes associated with social and cultural contexts such as discrimination and fear.
Background and Disease History
In 2019, China testified to an occurrence of strange pneumonia in Wuhan. The initial cases became epidemiologically associated with the Huanan seafood producers who sold live animals and aquatic animals. Based on impartial next-generation sequencing, a new beta-coronavirus became exposed from lower breathing system samples of infected victims. Human breathing epithelial cells also helped to identify the virus named 2019-novel covid virus (2019-nCOV). Under the electron microscope, the virus had a diameter of about 60 to 140nm and distinctive spikes of nine to twelve nanometers, comparable to the Coronoviridae phylum. Phylogenetically, the virus had about 88% more similarity to two bat-stemmed coronavirus strains than human-based coronaviruses. For instance, MERS had 50% similarity while SARS had 79% similarity to the virus. According to the taxonomy and phylogeny, the epidemiological group termed the new virus SARS-CoV2 (Gubernot et al., 2021). Thereafter, the World Health Organization termed the consequential syndrome as Coronavirus syndrome (COVID-19).
Epidemiological Perspective
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, various epidemiologists have employed mathematical models to predict the rates, numbers, and trends of its transmission. According to research, the case fatality ratio recently stands at about 1%. Besides, the SARS mortality ratio stands at approximately 10% (Chang et al., 2020). It, therefore, shows that the pandemic still has less severity. However, the morbidity rate for regular cold epidemics stands at about 0.1 %. Therefore, the COVID-19 morbidity rate has a ten times greater fatality rate than the common cold.
Globally, there exist 579,092,623 incidences of the disease, including 6,407,556 fatalities. As of October 2020, the morbidity per 100000 people in some countries involved fifty casualties. According to epidemiological studies COVID-19 majorly affects men at about 50%, middle-aged and with underlying health comorbidities (Chang et al., 2020). Some of the risk factors include pulmonary diseases, morbid obesity, and cardiovascular illnesses. The incubation period includes about four to five days with an utmost of twelve to fourteen days.
Disease Patterns and Dynamics
COVID-19 patients develop an extensive series of symptoms, varying from asymptomatic, moderate, and transitory to severe conditions. The regular indicators include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, nasal congestion, sore throat, headache, tiredness, myalgia, cough, and fever. About 50% of COVID-19 patients often experience unexpected loss of taste and smell. The symptom can progress from mild forms to severe forms. Sensory syndrome has more prevalence among younger patients. However, about 20% of cases constitute COVID-19 symptoms. Approximately 15% of COVID-19 cases often evolve into severe stages of the syndrome (Shi et al., 2020). About 5% of these cases further require intensive care services. The most regular severities of the disease include adult breathing distress illness and pneumonia. Some patients contract a very intense disorder of the immunologic disproportion, including instances of cytokine storm linked with intense cardiovascular difficulties, multi-organ dysfunction, and death. Higher risk cases include patients of ages above sixty with 75% prevalence rate.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there is no particular treatment for COVID-19. In intense conditions, only dexamethasone becomes used to minimize the mortality proportion. Other medications used in severe cases include tocilizumab, monoclonal antibodies, and remdesivir, combined with supportive life-support care. The overall COVID-19 cases by March, 2020 included 156,622 (Yates et al., 2022). They stretched across countries worldwide. The countries with the highest cases globally include Iran, Italy, and China with about 12729, 21157, and 80849 cases respectively (Yates et al., 2022). Based on the figure 1 below, the disease has shown a steady rise over 2020 due to poor containment measures.
Web of Causation
Based on the research findings, the first incidences of an unknown acute breathing illness became reported on 29th December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The victims became associated with a local seafood store. Epidemiologists linked the first cases with a primary source, the seafood market. Later, the secondary basis of infection and transmissibility became identified as human-to-human infection through close contact. There existed a risk of infection with no account of exposure to visiting Wuhan or wildlife. Besides, several incidences of infection became recorded among medical practitioners. The epidemiological studies conducted therefore showed that coronavirus contamination results from contact with the virus. Furthermore, both the normal population and the immunosuppressed have equal susceptibility. Most adult victims involved individuals between the ages of 35 to 45 years. There exist fewer classified cases among infants and children during the outbreak period. Research on COVID-19 early spread dynamics shows that the median age of transmission is 59 years (Adhikari et al., 2020). The infections fatalities were majorly individuals with the weak immune system, including patients with hepatic and renal illnesses, and older people.
Social, Cultural, Behavioral, or Genetic Epidemiology
The pandemic caused a major blow to global health, therefore, behavior change influenced by social, cultural, and genetics became essential. The outbreak of infectious diseases often results in severe death tolls. Therefore, humans tend to fear and develop sets of defensive mechanisms to curb ecological threats. Research shows that attracting enables individuals to transform their behavior when dealing with uncertainties (Qian & Yahara, 2020). Most individuals have transformed their behavior towards dealing with COVID-19 measures out of fear. Some of the set measures for curbing disease transmission include self-isolation, no touching face, and regular handwashing.
Other social aspects associated with COVID-19 include prejudice and discrimination. The occurrence of threat and fear has consequences for both how individuals view themselves and how they relate with other people. Research shows that having a threat of a disease often becomes linked with higher intensities of ethnocentrism (Qian & Yahara, 2020). Defining group barriers can therefore lower empathy with individuals socially-detached, and enhance dehumanization. For instance, there existed various instances of discrimination and racism within the United States and China during the outbreak of COVID-19. There exist reports of a bodily assault on ethnic Asian individuals in mostly white countries who mischaracterized coronavirus as the Chinese or Wuhan virus.
Based on culture, there exist variations in COVID-19 transmission and perception. Culture may vary from interdependence to independence. For instance, research shows that the urgency given to duties and obligation in Asian nations enable people to maintain discipline regarding their health measures. Besides, West Europe and America tend to honor expressivity through direct argumentation, hugging, and kissing. As a result, epidemiological studies record high cases of COVID-19 infection due to failure to observe social distance (Qian & Yahara, 2020). Countries like China, Japan, and Singapore also have tight cultures associated with strict punishment and social laws for deviance compared to lose cultures of Brazil, Italy, and America. The research, therefore, shows that Culture influences the transmission of the disease.
Appropriate Nurse Practitioner Measures
The most predominant mode of COVID-19 transmission includes contact by respiratory tiny droplets or large droplets over short ranges. It can also occur through surfaces diseased by those respiratory droplets. Besides close contact, extended time, and crowded places also become associated with greater risk. Symptomatic victims usually have major risks of infections. Based on this information, the infection can occur easily from an infected person to an uninfected individual in close range. The most recommended practice for an advanced-nursing practitioner includes isolation precautions and COVID-19 vaccines (Gubernot et al., 2021). They include the use of personal rooms for patients, wider distances between patients, and proper hand hygiene. Other appropriate practices include wearing surgical masks, goggles, gloves, and waterproof gowns for health practitioners.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 disease originating from the novel coronavirus has global epidemiological attributes such as a 10% mortality ratio, progressive pattern from mild to severe, and becomes associated with social and cultural contexts like discrimination and fear. The appropriate clinical measures include isolation practices like, maintaining distance, handwashing and wearing gloves. According to research, COVID-19 originated from Wuhan in form of unknown flu. It has led to about 6,407,556 fatalities globally. Higher risk cases include patients of ages above sixty with 75% prevalence. Besides, there transmission and occurrence of the disease occur based on the cultural perspective of individuals. Countries with tight cultures register lower cases while countries with loose cultures register higher cases. It becomes appropriate to maintain the measures put in place to contain the disease such as handwashing and isolation, and taking the COVID-19 vaccines.
References
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