THE Department of Health (DOH) in Northern Mindanao urged the public Thursday, January 23, to protect themselves from the Wuhan coronavirus and other types of virus by practicing proper hygiene.

In an advisory, the DOH regional office said the public should regularly wash their hands with soap and water, avoid touching animals, and cover the mouth and nose when sneezing using a tissue to avoid the spread of the virus.

The public should also avoid people who have cough and colds, and make it a habit to drink eight glasses of water every day and better off cook their own food, it added.

If somebody had just traveled from Wuhan, China and showing signs of cough and colds, Yu said it is best to consult a doctor for immediate treatment.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), according to the World Health Organization.

It can be transmitted from animal to person or infected human to others, the WHO added.

Common symptoms of 2019-nCoV include fever, cough and colds, breathing difficulties, and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.