The outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China has now spread all across the world, including right here in Southwest Florida. On today’s show we’re joined by a molecular virologist from Florida Gulf Coast University to learn about coronaviruses, and what’s know about this new one that causes COVID-19.
As of this morning there have been a total of 14 cases in Florida, nine of which are people who have a recent history of International travel. That’s according to the Florida Department of Health which is the clearinghouse of information regarding this new kind of coronavirus.
We are going to learn about coronaviruses from a scientific vantage point from Dr. Sharon Isern, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at FGCU. Dr. Isern is a former member of the National Institutes of Health Vaccines Against Microbial Diseases Study Section. She studies the immunology, epidemiology, surveillance, prevention, and treatment of mosquito-transmitted viruses including dengue and Zika. At FGCU, she teaches Cell Biology and Virology, and develops undergraduate research-based courses.