SARS-like virus could mutate, China warns
Credit to Author: Jan Arcilla| Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 16:16:02 +0000
BEIJING: A new virus that has killed nine people, infected hundreds and reached the United States could mutate and spread, China warned Wednesday as authorities urged people to steer clear of the city, at the heart of the outbreak.
The coronavirus has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong from 2002 to 2003.
With hundreds of millions of people traveling across China this week for the Lunar New Year holiday, the National Health Commission announced measures to contain the disease — including sterilization and ventilation at airports and bus stations as well as inside planes and trains.
The illness is mainly transmitted via the respiratory tract and there “is the possibility of viral mutation and further spread of the disease,” health commission vice minister Li Bin said in a news conference in Beijing.
The virus has now infected at least 440 people across China with most cases in Wuhan. Li added that 1,394 people are still under medical observation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) started an emergency meeting Wednesday to determine whether to declare a rare global public health emergency over the disease, which has now been detected in the United States, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Macao.
The first case in the US — a Seattle resident in his 30s — is in good condition, American officials said.
The Chinese government has classified the outbreak in the same category as the SARS epidemic, meaning compulsory isolation for those diagnosed with the illness and the potential to implement quarantine measures.
But they still have not been able to confirm the exact source of the virus.
“We will step up research efforts to identify the source and transmission of the disease,” Li said.
Countries have intensified efforts to stop the spread of the pathogen — known by its technical name 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — as the number of cases jumped.
Plane passengers are facing screening measures at five US airports and a host of transport hubs across Asia.
North Korea will ban foreign tourists entirely to protect itself against the virus, according to a major tour operator.
A prominent expert from China’s National Health Commission confirmed this week that the virus could be passed between people.
“We already know that the disease originated from a market which conducted illegal transaction of wild animals,” said Gao Fu, director of the Chinese center for disease control and prevention.
He said it was clear “this virus is adapting and mutating.”
Hong Kong and British scientists have estimated that between 1,300 and 1,700 people in Wuhan may have been infected.
Health authorities are urging people to wash their hands regularly, avoid crowded places, get plenty of fresh air and wear a mask if they have a cough.
Anyone with a cough or fever was urged to go to hospital.
No death sentence
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd gave assurances that being infected with the corona virus is not a death sentence.
He said the Department of Health (DoH) is in constant communication with the World Health Organization for updates on the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV).
“Hindi ito death sentence. Ang death sentence po dito ay kapag ang mga taong may malubhang sakit, di umano ‘yung pre-existing condition… kahit walang kwenta ‘yung coronavirus pwedeng maging malubha ang komplikasyon na maidudulot nito (This is not a death sentence. The death sentence is if the person who got the virus has pre-existing medical condition. Even of the coronavirus is not that harmful, it can cause serious harm),” he said.
The DoH on Tuesday said it was investigating the case of a five-year-old Chinese boy suspected to be carrying the virus. The boy and his mother traveled to Cebu from Wuhan, China.
With a reports from AFP