Before the new Corona ... viruses and epidemics have terrified the world in the past two decades

The new Corona virus spread in recent days, as it started from the Chinese city of Wuhan, and spread to many countries of the world, which led to an international alert to besiege it.

Here are some of the most prominent viruses and epidemics that have sparked a similar alert state in the world for the past two decades.

Corona Virus
Corona viruses are a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections, and belong to the straight coranavirus group within the coronavirus.

These viruses cause a large percentage of colds, with symptoms such as fever and swelling in humans, especially in winter and early spring. It may also cause bronchitis, either viral or bacterial.

The spreading HPV virus was discovered in 2003 and is associated with the virus known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus.

There are seven strains of Human Coronavirus, the last of which was discovered weeks ago in Wuhan City, Khubei Province in China, and has so far killed more than eighty people, while the authorities have announced the infection of thousands. Experts have warned that his incidence worldwide is likely to double every six days.

The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin word corona, meaning wreath, as it means a crown or aura, and refers to the state in which the virus appears when it is magnified by a microscope, where it appears on a crown. This virus is also called a "coronavirus," "aura virus," or a "worm virus."

The disease has spread from China to several countries, including Thailand, France, South Korea, the United States, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, also known scientifically for severe acute respiratory syndrome, occurred in Guangdong Province, in southern China, in November 2002, which affected more than 8,000 people, and caused the deaths of more than 800 people in the world, about 350 of them In China, this virus has sparked a global scare.

The SARS virus is a family of viruses that cause colds, and is considered the first emerging epidemic in the 21st century, and was first reported in Asia in November 2002, and spread to more than 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia before it was contained.

Symptoms of SARS in general include severe fever, headache, chills, aches and muscle aches, as well as an acute cough. Within a few months, the epidemic spread to many parts of the world.

The SARS epidemic left more than eight thousand people infected, and caused more than eight hundred deaths, about 350 of them in China.

H5N1 bird flu
Avian influenza is usually a contagious viral disease that affects birds (especially amphibious birds such as ducks and geese), but some of the viruses that cause this disease (about 12 viruses) have managed to penetrate the barriers between species and cause disease or infection in humans or other mammals.

Avian influenza hit the start of Hong Kong's chicken farms before it spread to humans, and prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency.

The epidemic - which began to spread in 2003 - left about 400 deaths after it spread to Asia, Africa, North America, and parts of Europe.

This disease was diagnosed for the first time in Italy more than a century ago, and it was called the plague of birds, and human infection was recorded for the first time in the year 1997.

Symptoms of this disease include cough, fever, sore throat, headache, shortness of breath, nausea, diarrhea, and a feeling of muscle pain, and may have complications such as pneumonia and respiratory failure, in addition to the possibility of impaired kidney function and problems in the heart muscle.

Swine flu "H1N1"
The H1N1 virus - which causes swine flu - spread between 2009 and 2010 in humans, as the epidemic appeared in Mexico in late March 2009, and on June 11 of the same year, an alarm was issued about the threat of a large-scale epidemic and was raised in August 10, 2010.

The World Health Organization has counted 18,500 deaths worldwide, especially in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and some parts of East Asia, including China and Japan. Most cases were recorded in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Given the widespread epidemic at the time, the World Health Organization raised the alert level from the third to the fifth, which is the highest stage of the alert, before deciding to return to the third stage. In August 2010, WHO declared the end of this global epidemic.

The Ebola epidemic
Ebola virus disease is formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever. It is transmitted to humans from wild animals, and its death rate is approximately 50%.

The Ebola virus disease first appeared in 1976, when it spread in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease erupted in a village near the Ebola river, from which the disease acquired its name.

In March 2014 it spread again in West Africa and caused many injuries and deaths, affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and the United States of America. Nearly half of those affected by the epidemic died.

The Ebola epidemic is transmitted between humans through direct contact with blood or body fluids, and it may also be transmitted through contact with surfaces or objects and devices contaminated with the virus such as needles and syringes.

Malaria
Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium that is transmitted to the human body by the bites of mosquitoes that carry it, then it begins to multiply in the liver and then invade the red cells. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, severe fatigue, and fever.

Each year, approximately 210 million people become infected with malaria, causing about 440 million deaths, and it is especially common in many African countries.

This disease is one of the oldest epidemics threatening mankind, dating back nearly 4000 years.

Malaria is common in the southern regions of the Sahara in Africa, where about 500,000 cases are diagnosed annually, and it is estimated that there are children who die every minute of malaria.

Zika virus
Zika virus is primarily caused by a virus that transmits Aedes aegypti insects that sting during the day. Its symptoms include fever, headache, rash, conjunctivitis, and muscle and joint pain.

The Zika virus is a genus of yellowish viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It was first detected in monkeys in Uganda in 1947, and then in humans in 1952 in the same country and the United Republic of Tanzania.

It has spread to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific, and in 2007 its first outbreak was reported on the island of Yap (Federated States of Micronesia), as it appeared in French Polynesia in 2013 and other Pacific countries and territories.

In March 2015, Brazil reported a new spread of the disease, which soon spread to all parts of the Americas, Africa and other regions of the world.

It is estimated that the incubation period for Zika virus disease (the period from the time of exposure to the appearance of symptoms) ranges from 3 days to 14 days.