Must-Know Vocab For Wuhan Coronavirus: From Droplets To Zoonotic
"The world is being flooded with perhaps unfamiliar words and phrases in coverage of
the newly discovered coronavirus — starting with the very word "coronavirus." (see below for definition)."
"It's useful to understand relevant medical terms during a time of health crisis, says Melissa Nolan, a medical doctor and a professor of epidemiology at Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. 'When you educate people, they're not as afraid. And they can understand what their personal risk is.'"
"Nolan, who worked as a disease investigator at Texas Children's Hospital during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009, along with epidemiologist Peter Krause of the Yale School of Public Health, helped identify and define some of the key terms related to the new infectious disease."
"Coronavirus: This term refers to a category of viruses that can cause fever, breathing difficulties, pneumonia and diarrhea. Some are potentially fatal. Others can cause a certain percentage of common colds. The name comes from the Latin word "corona," which means crown. Under a microscope, these viruses are characterized by circles with spikes ending in little blobs."