V o lu me T h i rt y F o ur , N umber 2
March–April 2020
A most unusual year generates the good, the bad, and the ugly Spring is here! Early!
New medical threat emerges, proliferates
Text and photos by Lynn Ayres
After an unusually mild winter, spring 2020 arrived early. The signs were here by mid-February. Temperatures were usually above freezing, sometimes into the ’50s and even ’60s. We hadn’t seen any snow to speak of—a dusting here, a slushy “wintery mix” there—but the annual winter blizzard (or two, or three) never arrived. Flowers began budding and blooming, which they often do during a prespring warm spell. When this has happened in past years, a late blast of winter has caused buds to freeze and drop to the ground. Not so this time. Strangest of all, the birds started singing. Winter birdsong is infrequent and irregular, but in spring—when a young bird’s fancy turns to love—it increases dramatically. The male sings to define his territory and attract a mate. Other birds are doing the same. “Over here, ladies. My place has the best food and nesting materials. And get lost, you second-rate suitors!” This started in February, and I was afraid the birds would set up housekeeping too soon, with unfortunate results for their babies. But I think they’ll be okay.
While flowers were blooming and birds were singing, a dangerous new coronavirus was spreading across the world. Emerging in December, it was named COVID-19, short for “coronavirus disease of 2019.” It spread quickly. Because it was new, no one had immunity. It began as an epidemic in China and spread worldwide within months. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March, and by late-April, the world saw over 3.1 million people infected and 216,000 deaths. WHAT IS A VIRUS? A virus is an infectious agent that can only replicate within a host organism. When a virus particle is independent from a host, it consists of genetic material contained within a protein shell. IS IT ALIVE? Good question. For about 100 years, the scientific community has repeatedly changed its mind over what viruses are. Today they are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving. One criterion that defines life is the ability to reproduce. Viruses cannot do that on their own. In order to reproduce, they must infect a living host and hijack its resources. WHAT IS A CORONAVIRUS? The name “coronavirus” is from Latin corona, meaning “crown” or “wreath.” The name refers to the characteristic appearance of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a crown or of a solar corona.
COVID-19 virus
Photo from Johns Hopkins
MEDICAL THREAT continued on page 2