The new coronavirus has flooded headlines since it was detected in China in December — and top U.S. public health officials say it’s likely to continue spreading.
Reader Lauren Johnson asked Curious Texas: What do the terms “presumptive positive” or “preliminary positive” mean?
As the outbreak continues to unfold, here are the definitions to those terms, as well as some of the words and phrase you need to know that relate to the new virus.
Asymptomatic — Someone who has not shown symptoms of being ill. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that while there have been reports of the new coronavirus spreading before people become sick, it’s not believed to be very common.
Clean — Cleaning refers to the removal of germs and dirt from household surfaces. The CDC recommends that people in homes with people who have, or are suspected of having, COVID-19 regularly clean and disinfect surfaces. People may use “clean” and “disinfect” interchangeably, but they have different meanings and that both should be done in homes where someone is sick. While cleaning surfaces with soap and water doesn’t kill germs, it does lessen their numbers as well as the risk of spreading the disease, the CDC says.
Cluster — A disease or infection “cluster” is a place where people are affected by the same health event at the same time in higher-than-expected numbers, the CDC says.
Community spread — The term means that people in an area have become infected with the virus, including people who are not sure how, or where, they became infected. During the early stages of the outbreak, especially in the U.S., cases of the new coronavirus were reported only among people who had recently traveled to affected areas. This term has been used more widely since late February, when a person in California with no relevant travel history tested positive for the virus, indicating community spread there.
Complications — More serious illnesses caused by a disease. Pneumonia is a reported complication of COVID-19.
Coronavirus — A large family of viruses that can infect people and animals. Sometimes they start in animals and later spread to people, which is what health experts believe happened with COVID-19. In humans, coronaviruses cause a range of upper respiratory problems, from the common cold to more-severe illnesses. The name comes from the Latin word for “crown,” which is what coronaviruses resemble under a microscope.
COVID-19 — An abbreviation of “coronavirus disease 2019,” it’s the World Health Organization’s official name for the new coronavirus.
Disinfect — Disinfecting is the use of chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. The CDC urges both cleaning and disinfecting of household surfaces for maximum disease prevention.
Epidemic — An increase in the number of disease cases beyond what is normally expected. Often the increase is sudden, the CDC says.
Incubation period — The amount of time it takes for a person to show symptoms after being exposed to a disease. Experts believe the incubation period of COVID-19 is between two days and two weeks.
Infected — An “infected” person refers to a person who has an infectious disease.
Infectious — An infectious disease is an illness spread by pathogens, such as a virus or bacteria. They are sometimes different from contagious disease, which is spread from person to person. Many infections are contagious, like the flu, but some, like food poisoning, aren’t. COVID-19 is an example of a disease that is both contagious and infectious.
Isolation — The CDC defines isolation as separating sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. There have been many reports since the COVID-19 outbreak began of people choosing to self-isolate as a precaution after traveling to areas affected by the disease. For COVID-19, the CDC says isolation is put in place for people who are known to have the virus, and may be ordered by local governments or public health authorities.
MERS — Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, is another known strain of coronavirus. MERS was first detected in 2012 and its largest outbreak occurred in 2015.
Mortality rate — Also referred to as the death rate, the mortality rate of a disease is defined by the CDC as the frequency of death in a given population in a given time period. For COVID-19, it would be calculated by dividing the total number of deaths by the total number of cases. So far, about 3.5% of reported cases have resulted in death — but that actual death rate of COVID-19 is hard to know for sure. For one, the outbreak isn’t over. And many cases of the disease are mild, meaning they might go unreported and make the death rate seem higher.
N-95 respirator — While face masks are not useful for disease prevention among healthy people, they can be useful for health-care workers. The CDC recommends that health-care workers wear face masks that are specially fitted and filter out more air particles. The N95 is the most common type of these masks. The CDC does not recommend that the general public wear them, and health experts have said they are uncomfortable and difficult to wear for long periods.
Novel — A novel form of a disease means it is new. Before it had an official name, COVID-19 was referred to as a novel coronavirus because the strain hadn’t been seen in humans before.
Outbreak — According to the CDC, an outbreak is defined the same way as an epidemic but refers to a smaller geographic area. The CDC has warned Americans to prepare for outbreaks in local communities.
Pandemic — A pandemic is defined by the CDC as a disease that has spread to multiple countries or continents.
Person under investigation — A person under investigation, or PUI, is someone who is suspected of having the disease. In the case of COVID-19, it usually refers to people either waiting to be tested or awaiting test results.
Presumptive positive — A COVID-19 test result is referred to as a “presumptive positive” when a person has been tested positive by a public health laboratory but the result hasn’t been confirmed by the CDC.
Public health emergency — The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency at the end of January. WHO defines a public health emergency as the imminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bioterrorism, an epidemic or pandemic disease. It also defines it as an imminent threat from a highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin that puts a significant number of people at substantial risk.
Quarantine — In addition to separating sick people from healthy people, a quarantine also involves restricting a person’s movement. Many people who have become sick with the virus have been quarantined to their homes. For COVID-19, the CDC said quarantines mainly are used for people believed to have been exposed to the disease but who are not showing symptoms.
SARS — Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is another strain of coronavirus that was reported in China in 2002. It infected more than 8,000 people in 26 countries by the time the outbreak stopped in July 2003.
Social distancing — The CDC says social distancing is one way to prevent the spread of disease. It involves staying several feet apart from others whenever possible (the CDC recommends 6 feet to prevent COVID-19), and doing things like avoiding public transportation and other crowded areas.
Symptomatic — A person who is symptomatic is showing signs of being sick or ill. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
Transmission — Transmission refers to how a disease spreads. COVID-19 spreads primarily through droplets when people cough and sneeze. It’s possible that the virus can be spread by touching surfaces that are infected, but it’s believed to be less common.
Weak positive — A COVID-19 test that comes back as “weak positive” means that low levels of the virus were found. You might have heard this term after a woman was mistakenly released from quarantine in San Antonio after testing “weak positive.” A dog in Hong Kong also tested weak positive for the virus in late February, but health officials have emphasized that there is no evidence that pets can get sick and give COVID-19 to other people.
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