live 2020
The world is currently witnessing an outbreak of the new coronavirus that broke out in the city of Wuhan, China, at the end of December 2019. This new coronavirus, named nCoV-2019, was first isolated in three patients of Wuhan suffering from severe respiratory symptoms. The virus has already spread from Wuhan to other major cities and provinces in China, as well as to other countries. For this reason, on January 30, the World Health Organization declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.
Coronaviruses are not new: everyone remembers SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and SRMO (Middle East respiratory syndrome). The SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) epidemic spread to 27 countries from November 2002 to July 2003, infecting 8,096 people, 774 of whom died. Ten years later, in 2012, SRMO-CoV emerged, affecting 2,494 people and making 858 victims. Today, almost two decades after SARS, nCoV-2019 has made the leap in humans and is causing a new epidemic.
The number of nCoV-2019 infections is increasing rapidly. As of February 2, 2020, 17,384 confirmed cases have been reported, and 362 people have died from the infection. Canada has four confirmed cases, including three in Ontario and one in British Columbia. It has also been confirmed that the escalating epidemic is due to person-to-person transmission of nCoV-2019. The Chinese government has put in place strict measures to contain and control this coronavirus outbreak. So far, only sporadic cases have been reported outside of China.
Coronaviruses have long been known to cause a common cold with mild symptoms in humans. The new coronaviruses, on the other hand – SARS-CoV, SRMO-CoV and nCoV-2019 – are highly pathogenic, in particular because they result from transmission from animals to humans. Bat coronaviruses are likely the primary reservoirs, but the intermediate host species immediately responsible for the transmission of nCoV-2019 to humans remains to be identified. People with the virus therefore have no individual or group immunity to these viruses from animals. Worse: these new coronaviruses can attack the lower respiratory tract and cause severe, life-threatening respiratory symptoms.
Unfortunately, there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine for SARS-CoV, SRMO-CoV or nCoV-2019. Therefore, prevention, rapid diagnosis and quarantine measures are therefore essential to stop the transmission and spread of nCoV-2019. Since this new virus is transmitted by direct contact and by droplets (airborne route), wearing a mask and washing your hands could therefore be enough to prevent its acquisition. Current statistics show that most people who have died from nCoV-2019 infection are elderly patients who already had pre-existing health conditions. Although caution is advised, it is also important to avoid undue fear that could cause panic and unnecessarily overload the health network.
That said, you have to be well prepared. Government and health agencies must remain on the lookout for any developments in the nCoV-2019 epidemic. Hospitals and clinics must have rapid and accurate diagnostic tools on hand, and reserve the necessary capacity for laboratory testing in the event of an nCoV-2019 outbreak in Montreal or another Canadian city. More research is also needed to better understand this new coronavirus: where it comes from, how it spreads and manifests, and how to prevent and treat the infection.
In response to the escalating epidemic of nCoV-2019, the Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity at McGill has launched a call for projects to tackle this emerging threat. The more we know about nCoV-2019, the more we will be able to discover and develop effective measures to prevent its transmission and treat infected patients, and thus stem the epidemic.
We do not yet know how the epidemic will evolve in the coming days, or the impact it will have on our society, in various respects. But it is certain that governments, health professionals, researchers, the private sector and the general public will have to join forces to overcome it. NCoV-2019 is not the first animal coronavirus to make its way into humans, and is unlikely to be the last. It’s about learning from the past to better prepare for the future.
Chen Liang, PhD
Professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University
Researcher, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital
McGill Interdisciplinary Infection and Immunity Initiative
Don Sheppard, M.D., FRCP (C)
Director, Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity, McGill
Professor and Director, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University
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