COVID-19 is spreading more than the SARS coronavirus did in 2003 because those infected by COVID-19 may not know they have it for several days, Bucknell University biology professor Marie Pizzorno said.

"There's something about the biology of this virus," saidPizzorno, who has taught virology for more than 25 years. "People dont feel as bad (at first). When you got sick with the original SARS, you were really sick."

Someone infected with COVID-19, caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, may go about his or her daily business, touching surfaces and breathing on things, for up to a week or more before feeling sick, said Pizzorno, who studies viruses on the molecular level. Once that infected person becomes aware of the infection, so many others have already come in contact with the virus, she said.

While the death rate percentage of COVID-19 is close to 5 percent worldwide and near 2 percent in the U.S. so far, those numbers are not as high as for SARS, which had a death rate of about 10 percent, but SARS did not spread as far.

"WithSARS, because of the virus or human behavior, only about 8,000 people were infected," Pizzorno said.

More than 135,000 people in the United States alone are infected with COVID-19 and more than 2,400of those have died here, according to the running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The true number of cases is thought to be considerably higher because of testing shortages and mild illnesses that have gone unreported, The Associated Press reported.

Worldwide, more than 710,000 infections were reported, and deaths topped 33,000, half of them in Italy and Spain.

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)epidemic in 2002-2003 affected 26 countries and resulted in more than 8,000 cases and 774 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). SARS-CoV, as it is known, is thought to be an animal virus from perhaps bats that spread to other animals, such as civet cats, a type of mammal found in Asia and Africa that is not a feline. SARS first infected humans in the Guangdong province of southern China in 2002, according to WHO.

COVID-19, which originated from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, last year, has spread to every continent except Antarctica.

"The sequence of this virus appears to similar to the known bat coronavirus," Pizzorno said.

While it's believed the original SARS virus went from bat to civet cat to human, "for this outbreak, we dont know if there was an intermediate," she said.

She said the Chinese people are fond of eating wild animals. Though the market where the virus spread from was called a fish market, Pizzorno suspects the market sold more than just fish.

COVID-19 is spreading more slowly in Valley counties than a heavily populated area such as New York City because the population is more spread out.

"We probably could shut it down," Pizzorno said. "Were fairly isolated."

She said, though, it would be easy to seed the virus back into the community if an infected person comes in from New York or elsewhere.

Until there is a vaccine for COVID-19, or even afterward,it's best to do what mom told you wash your hands before you eat, when you come in from outside, she said.

"I've gottenin the habit of washing my hands whenever I come in the house if Ive been at the grocery store or just outside," Pizzorno said.

She also advised keeping a social distance.

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Slow reveal aids spread of COVID-19, Bucknell virologist says - Sunbury Daily Item