A newly identified virus originating in central China is spreading between people primarily through coughing, kissing or contact with saliva, Chinese authorities suggested, as the death toll rose to 17 and the number of confirmed cases surpassed 500.
The number of infections from the new pneumonia-causing coronavirus has multiplied in recent days, with 546 confirmed cases in mainland China as of Wednesday, according to state broadcaster China Central Television and local Chinese authorities, up from more than 300 announced the previous day . From its initial emergence in a seafood and livestock market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the virus has spread across China and, as of Tuesday, into the U.S.
In Hong Kong, health authorities said Wednesday that it was likely a patient had been infected with the new coronavirus, in what would be the Chinese territory’s first confirmed case. The patient, a 39-year-old man from Wuhan, had arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Hong Kong Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan said at a news conference. Preliminary examinations had shown the man testing positive for the virus, Ms. Chan said.
Additionally, across the Pearl River, the Chinese territory of Macau confirmed its first case Wednesday: a 52-year-old woman who had taken a high-speed train from Wuhan, Chinese state media reported.
Several provinces and territories in China, including Fujian, Anhui, Liaoning and Guizhou, announced their first confirmed infection cases, according to CCTV and local Chinese authorities. The province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital and largest city, late Wednesday reported a total 444 confirmed cases, up from 270 announced the previous day. It has been the only region to report deaths from the virus so far—rising to 17 from six a day earlier.
This week, Zhong Nanshan, one of the country’s best-known epidemiologists, confirmed suspicions that the novel coronavirus was spreading between humans , which would allow the disease to be transmitted among people who don’t interact with any animals. The virus is believed to have spread to humans from animals at the Wuhan market.
Chinese hospitals are stepping up preventive measures, health officials say, and government officials are recommending that people not enter or leave Wuhan.
- Some experts said they believe the threshold for the outbreak to be declared an international emergency had been reached.
- Dr. Peter Horby, a professor of emerging infectious diseases at Oxford University, said there were three criteria for such a determination: the outbreak must be an extraordinary event, there must be a risk of international spread and a globally coordinated response is required.
“In my opinion, those three criteria have been met,” he said. - Officials said it was too early to compare the new virus with SARS or MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, in terms of how lethal it might be. They attributed the spike in new cases to improvements in detection and monitoring.
One veteran of the SARS outbreak said that while there are some similarities in the new virus — namely its origins in China and the link to animals — the current outbreak appears much milder.
Dr. David Heymann, who headed WHO’s global response to SARS in 2003, said the new virus appears dangerous for older people with other health conditions, but doesn’t seem nearly as infectious as SARS.
“It looks like it doesn’t transmit through the air very easily and probably transmits through close contact,” he said. “That was not the case with SARS.”
Last Thursday morning the Chinese government quarantined all 11 million residents of Wuhan, prohibiting anyone from leaving the area. By Thursday afternoon, 7 cities were under lockdown in #China due to #WuhanCoronavirus. All near Wuhan. 12million more people restricted from traveling. (Wuhan: 11million Huanggang: 7.5million Ezhou: 1million Zhijiang: 550thousand Qianjiang: 962Thousand Chibi: 530Thousand Xiantao: 1.6million).
Government sources are stating that this virus is not as deadly as SARS, but it is still early in the game and it shows all of the signs of a pandemic.