(CNN) – The outbreak of coronavirus Wuhan in central China has infected thousands and spread abroad, increasing the spectrum of a potential global epidemic as authorities desperately try to contain it.
Since the first case was identified at the beginning of December in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, more than 5,900 people became ill and at least 132 people died in mainland China. In addition, there are dozens of confirmed cases in 17 locations outside of mainland China, including at least five in U.S.
LOOK: Paraguayan health authorities evaluate suspected case of coronavirus
The total number of cases worldwide now exceeds 6,000.
The world has never had a more advanced medical science, but neither has it been so interconnected. So what can be done to prevent it from becoming a global epidemic?
There are still many things we do not know about the virus, officially known as 2019-nCov, but the Chinese authorities believe that it is spreading from human to human and that people can become infected before symptoms appear.
The World Health Organization (WHO) did not call it a global health emergency, but it is not disputed that it is spreading. During the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that the outbreak is accelerating.
“Life is of the utmost importance. When an epidemic erupts, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it, ”he said, according to Chinese state media.
LOOK: World alarm for the coronavirus: what happens in Argentina?
First thing’s first. How serious is it?
Although it is scary to think about the spread of a deadly virus, it is important to remember that the vast majority of cases so far have not been fatal.
The mortality rate is changing as the number of people affected changes. Until Tuesday, Wuhan’s coronavirus mortality rate was approximately 2.3%. In comparison, WHO estimated that the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 had a general mortality rate of 9.6%. Respiratory syndrome Middle East (MERS), another type of coronavirus, has a 35% mortality rate.
However, a large proportion of coronavirus cases are considered “serious” and, so far, very few people have left the hospital after recovering, according to official figures.
So how do doctors treat it?
There are no specific treatments for coronaviruses, ranging from the common cold to SARS. But like the common cold, doctors can treat symptoms, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonoses unit.
David Heymann, deputy director general of Health and Environment Safety at WHO, said doctors will ensure that patients can breathe properly and give them life support if necessary. Apart from that, the benefit of keeping people in the hospital would be to isolate them from the general population, so that they cannot infect others.
What else can doctors do?
The way to stop an outbreak is to find out who a patient has had contact with and try to prevent the virus from spreading, Heymann said.
Doctors put all the people with whom the patient has recently had contact under “fever surveillance,” he said. If those contacts develop fever, then they are immediately tested for the virus, and then it is necessary to track their own contacts. Hospitals should follow good practices, so that doctors themselves are not helping the disease.
LOOK: A testimony from Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated
“By tracking contacts, identifying new cases, isolating new cases, it can eventually interrupt the transmission,” he said, adding that this was how the 2003 SARS outbreak was controlled. “Those are the things you can do: clean hospital practices , ensure that they are well done so that it does not transmit in hospitals and, at the same time, ensure that they are tracking contacts and identifying all cases. ”
What about travel bans?
The Hong Kong authorities, which borders mainland China, have established travel bans and tell Hubei residents and those who visited the province in the last 14 days that they cannot enter the city. They have also said that all public, cultural and leisure facilities will be closed “until further notice” in a movement to control the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. On Tuesday, Hong Kong announced that it would close many of its borders with mainland China.
In mainland China, isolation has been taken to another level.
The Chinese authorities have closed transport in and out of Wuhan and in at least 10 other cities, quarantining millions of people. Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang told state-owned CCTV on Monday that, although history does not kindly remember the measure, “we believe that as long as it is good for the control of the epidemic and the safety of people, we are willing to assume any responsibility to block for the city ”.
Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that investigates emerging infectious diseases, called the movement “bold” and said it was not without political risks, but that it could be enough to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
It is a movement that has never been done before in such magnitude, and has provoked criticism from some experts.
There were smaller quarantines during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa Western, but that sparked violent protests and distrust of public health authorities, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the WHO Center for Global Health Law, adding that the measure could even hinder the response to the outbreak.
Others have warned that it may be imprudent for logistical issues. Wuhan health authorities previously said that local hospitals are overwhelmed, and the city plans to build two more hospitals in a few days.
“The health risks of people in the city depend on how they are closing it,” Heymann said, referring to food and medical supplies. Even so, the measure is expected to decrease the number of cases that reach other countries, he added.
What about the vaccines?
Last century, smallpox killed about 300 million people, according to the World Economic Forum. Thanks to vaccines, it became the first fatal disease to be completely eliminated.
LOOK: More than 100 dead and thousands affected by the coronavirus: know if it arrived in your country
Therefore, it is not surprising that scientists want to develop a vaccine against Wuhan’s coronavirus. According to Daszak, there are already vaccine candidates, and scientists around the world are working to develop one.
But even if scientists successfully develop a vaccine, they may not be ready in time to treat this outbreak.
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the USA. In the US, it will take a few months until the first phase of clinical trials begins, and then more than a year until a vaccine is available.
Heymann, from WHO, said it is very unlikely that any vaccine studied during this outbreak will be available soon.
“They will be available if this outbreak continues for a long period of time, but nobody knows what will happen with this outbreak,” Heymann said.
Even then, a vaccine cannot be used to treat people with the virus, it can only be given to people who have not yet been exposed to it.
Should WHO declare a global health emergency?
Until now, WHO has decided not to declare a public health emergency of international interest (PHEIC), although Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific, warned that “it can still become one.”
A PHEIC is defined as something that constitutes a public health risk to other states due to the speed of its spread abroad, which requires a coordinated international response. If a PHEIC is declared, all WHO member states must comply with the recommendations of the WHO Emergency Committee.
Last week, WHO said that while the outbreak was severe in China, it had not yet reached a global level. But WHO may also be concerned about creating unnecessary panic.
During the SARS outbreak that infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 worldwide between November 2002 and July 2003, WHO warned visitors not to travel to Hong Kong. In May 2003, WHO withdrew that notice, but Hong Kong remained on a list of affected areas until June 23, 2003.
Some felt that this measure was an exaggerated reaction, according to an article published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in August 2003.
“In some circles, WHO is perceived to have overreacted to the epidemic, causing unnecessary panic on the international scene and placing unjustified barriers in the way of people from ‘infected’ areas who wish to attend events such as business exhibitions or international sports activities, ”said the newspaper.
So what can the public do? Are masks or masks useful?
The masks are used both in Hong Kong and mainland China that stocks are running low.
The use of masks is now mandatory for those who go out in public in Wuhan. The Chinese central government has asked medical mask manufacturers to resume production during the Lunar New Year period. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 30 factories have resumed production and are making 8 million masks every day.
But it’s still unclear how the virus spreads or if the masks would stop it, Heymann said.
“There is no evidence that it is circulating in a way that a mask can prevent it,” he said. And even if the disease can spread through the air, the masks may not be completely effective. “The masks are very difficult to use,” he added, and explained that if there is an air gap in the mask, it will not work.
What else can be done?
Experts say there is one simple thing you can do: wash your hands.
Van Kerkhove of the WHO said he recommends washing his hands with soap and water and sneezing into his elbow, if he has to sneeze.
Informing people about what to look for is also vital, according to Heymann. If an asymptomatic person shows up at an airport, they may not be picked up by the authorities that only perform fever screening tests.
LOOK: What are the symptoms of Wuhan coronavirus, how can you protect yourself and what is the treatment?
“A border does not stop infections, people can cross borders while they are in the incubation period. Therefore, detection will find some, but you certainly won’t get others, ”Heymann said.
“So, the important thing in the screening test is to tell people, not only‘ we are taking the temperature ’, but also giving them some kind of notification of where to go in case they have a fever.”
Elizabeth Cohen and Dakin Andone of CNN contributed to this report.
– .
