What is Covid-19? It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. It first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November 2019. The World Health Organisation has declared it a pandemic. Coronavirus Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Severe disease If the disease progresses it will be due to the immune system overreacting to the virus. Those chemical signals to the rest of the body cause inflammation, but this needs to be delicately balanced. Too much inflammation can cause collateral damage throughout the body. How affects? The problem is the immune system is now spiralling out of control and causing damage throughout the body. It can lead to septic shock when the blood pressure drops to ...