They are very busy at Erasmus MC. China has requested assistance from virologists in different countries. In the Netherlands, these are researchers from the Rotterdam hospital.
“Finding the cause is a priority at this stage,” says virologist Bart Haagmans. “That can be done by quarantining people with the virus as quickly as possible and locating the source, most likely animals. That way you can bring the outbreak to an end. That’s the most important thing. Finding a vaccine is short period is not feasible. “
Busy places
According to his colleague Marion Koopmans it is not surprising that the virus is emerging in Asia. “In China there are many markets where live animals are traded. These are busy places. Fish, birds and mammals are confused there.”
The first cases of the corona virus were linked to a fish market in Wuhan, a metropolis in the east of China. Live animals such as birds are also sold on the market. It is not yet known from which animal this virus comes.
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40 people infected
So far, the cases have been limited to Asia. The two fatalities come from Wuhan. Yet not all infected people have been on the market. This causes worries to grow. It can mean that the lung disease can spread from person to person. About 40 people are now infected in China.
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The infected people in Japan and Thailand are all Chinese. They have all traveled abroad from the Wuhan area. During the Chinese New Year on January 25, Chinese travel throughout the country. They visit friends and family. The concern is that the disease will spread even further during that period.
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Coronaviruses
The coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause diseases. These viruses are zoonotic, which means that they can be transmitted between animals and humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides more information about the virus on their website.
Common signs of infection are respiratory problems, fever and cough. In severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure and is fatal. The standard recommendations that the WHO makes to prevent spread are: regularly washing hands, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
Coronaviruses that have broken out earlier are MERS and SARS. The latter virus was also discovered in China in 2003. It was transferred from civet cats to humans. There are several coronaviruses that are already circulating among animals, but that have not yet infected people.
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The outbreak of this new variant is reminiscent of the spread of SARS in 2003. More than 800 people have died worldwide. This virus, too, is said to have started on a market in China and has been transmitted from animal to human.
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The Chinese government then covered this up. Due to a lack of transparency, knowledge was limited at the time. This allowed the virus to spread more. China seems to have learned from this and is now bringing out much more information.
Advances in science
“At the SARS outbreak, it took a long time for China to report that something was going on at all. Now, China has not only quickly reported what is going on, but it has also immediately revealed what it is about the virus know “, says Koopmans. “In addition, there is also a lot of progress in science. I think the Chinese are now working hard on a solution.”
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