The World is getting closer, even for the viruses!

Vasco Da Gama, the famous Portuguese explorer took nearly a year to reach India through the sea route in the 1400s, now it takes nearly 12 hours and a cocktail. Back in the olden days traveling from one country to another wasn’t a cakewalk certainly not for the viruses. With the advancement in technology and the ability to fly has made it incredibly easy to hop around the globe. It has brought the world closer and viruses are becoming quite potent too!

The past has seen many similar epidemics wherein the death toll was even higher! I mean people died of typhoid! The virus of Asian flu was first identified in Guizhou. It spread to Singapore in February 1957, reached Hong Kong by April, and the US by June. The death toll in the US was approximately 69,800. The elderly were particularly vulnerable. Estimates of worldwide deaths vary widely depending on the source, ranging from 1 million to 4 million, with WHO settling on "about two million".

On January 7, the coronavirus was born when the officials at China announced they had identified a new virus, according to the WHO. The novel virus was named 2019-nCoV and was identified as belonging to the coronavirus family, which includes SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the common cold.

As on 5th March, almost 3 months later, the virus has already reached South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, United States, France, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, Austria, Spain and most recently India. No trade barriers are able to stop the viruses, I guess! The number of cases has surpassed 113,000 worldwide which is quite obviously alarming.

What is the solution? Don’t allow foreign collaborations and be stuck to your country; of course not!

We need to understand that evolution is an on-going process and as we are evolving, so are the viruses, bacteria and other organisms apart from dogs (they have achieved the maximum cuteness level and are already the best). According to this New Yorker article epidemics have altered the societies they have spread through, affecting personal relationships, the work of artists and intellectuals, and the man-made and natural environments. As we encounter new hurdles we will come up with new vaccines and solutions to overcome them. As for the virus is concerned the next time you order something online and it is dispatched from some international location it is quite possible that the next deadly virus is along the way to greet you and there is pretty much nothing you can do about it!