After the outbreak of the enigmatic lung disease in China, the number of confirmed cases has skyrocketed: to 201. As of Sunday, only 62 cases had been officially confirmed. Another patient also died, the health authority in central China’s Wuhan reported on Monday. There are now a total of three deaths.
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For the first time, infections with the novel corona virus were also found in other locations in China discovered: in the district Daxing in Beijing, two patients tested positive for the new corona virus, in Shenzhen in southern China. All three were in before Wuhan been. The majority of infections continued to focus on the 11 million metropolis with 198 cases. Of the patients there, 35 are seriously ill and nine are in critical condition, the health agency reported.
British researchers assume 1700 people are infected
Researchers at the British Center for the Analysis of Global Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London believe that the spread of the disease is much larger than previously known: They estimate the number of infected people to be more than 1,700,
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In addition, experts warn of a possible transmission of the virus from person to person. China’s health commission warned in Beijing that the origin of the new type of coronavirus has not yet been found. Nor was he sure how people got infected: “The transmission is not yet fully understood.” Nevertheless experts stopped the outbreak for “controllable”,
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It is believed that the novel virus comes from the animal world. The initial infections were linked to a now closed Wuhan fish market, which also sold wild animals. Corona viruses often cause harmless illnesses such as colds – however, pathogens of dangerous respiratory diseases such as Sars and Mers are also included.
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The Sars virus, which the new pathogen is similar to, probably also came from the animal world. Sars stands for “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome”. In the 2002/2003 Sars pandemic, around 8000 people worldwide developed lung disease from China. Almost 800 people died. At the time, the outbreak was initially covered up, which prevented a quick response and initially promoted its spread.
“Limited human-to-human transmission could occur”
Just over a week ago, experts had decoded the gene sequence of the new virus, which makes testing in patients with pneumonia of unknown cause easier. There are also cases abroad. There are two infections in Thailand and in Japan a case with travelers from Wuhan has been confirmed, However, the three patients had not visited the animal market, where the origin is suspected. This warned experts against human-to-human transmission.
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The World Health Organization has so far not issued a travel warning for tourists. The United States Department of Health (CDC) but advised travelers to WuhanTo avoid animal markets and contact with animals or with sick people. “There could be limited human-to-human transmission,” the message said.
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