A monarch of pneumonia

Authors

  • Jose Mora Perujo Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.v13i171.17378

Keywords:

Pneumonia, World Health Organization, respiratory infection, coronavirus

Abstract

Pneumonia is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. The pathological manifestation is due to the fact that the alveoli, the sacs where the respiratory exchange takes place, are filled with pus due to the action of the immune system, which results in a painful breathing and limited oxygen absorption. There are various microorganisms that act as causal agents of the disease, which can be viruses, bacteria or fungi, and among the most common ones we can highlight Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae or even Klebsiella pneumoniae in the case of bacteria and the paramyxovirus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as the main responsible for viral pneumonia. But, currently the alarms have gone off due to the existence of a new outbreak of coronavirus first detected in Wuhan, one of the most populated cities in China. The pneumonia caused by this virus has resulted in the death of 169 people and with approximately 7 100 cases of infected people, according to data collected until January 29, 2020 (78 000 cases and 2 442 deaths as of February 23, 2020). At this point it is good to know a little about the Coronaviridae family to know what this new individual of such an “aristocratic” family is about.

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Published

2020-03-20

How to Cite

Mora Perujo, J. (2020). A monarch of pneumonia. Encuentros En La Biología, 13(171), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.v13i171.17378

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Section

Artículos