China, and at least three more regions of the Asian continent, have had to deal with a mysterious pathogen in recent weeks that has already been identified as a new strain of coronavirus, from the same family of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In a recent update, it has been confirmed that the virus is spread among humans, which would mean that its reach could be faster and more dangerous.
So far it has been discovered that 201 people have been infected by this new virus called 2019-nCoV, which has already claimed three patients. Two of them, 61 and 69 years old, suffered from lung diseases.
“At this time, it can be said that the phenomenon of transmission from human to human is confirmed,” said the renowned scientist from the National Health Commission, Zhong Nanshan, who in 2003 also helped assess the magnitude of the SARS. This was clarified in an interview with CCTV.
The outbreak is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, in central China. And to this day, the Chinese authorities had assured that there was no indication that the spread of the virus occurred from one person to another, although they had indicated that it was possibly from a group of infected animals in a seafood market and wild animals of this region.
The virus causes symptoms very similar to those of pneumonia, with fever and breathing difficulties. And although at first, the new outbreak caused great concern due to its alleged relationship with SARS, over the weekend the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that this new virus “is not SARS”, while the Chinese National Health Commission dismissed any concerns, cataloging the situation as “predictable and controllable.” Although they did acknowledged that it was necessary to have “a close follow-up to discover new mutations.”
Between 2002 and 2003, SARS ended the lives of more than 700 people.
