Coronavirus?
Is it dangerous (not particularly, for healthy people)/ what are they, and where did they come from?
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are frequent causes of the common cold, causing URTIs throughout the world, in all age groups, leading to millions of days of work and school absence, physician visits, and frequent inappropriate antibiotic use (Greenberg, 2011).
Coronaviruses
J.S.M. Peiris, in Medical Microbiology (Eighteenth Edition), 2012
Taxonomy
Coronaviruses and toroviruses are two virus genera within the virus family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales. Coronaviruses are well-established pathogens of humans and animals while the toroviruses are recognized as causes of animal diarrhoea. Toroviruses have also been found in human faeces but their aetiological role remains unclear.
Coronaviruses are classified into three groups, initially based on antigenic relationships of the spike (S), membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins and now re-enforced by viral genetic phylogeny (Box 57.1). The HCoVs 229E and NL63 are group 1 coronaviruses, while OC43, HKU-1 and SARS coronaviruses are classified in group 2. Group 3 coronaviruses are found in avian species. Genetic recombination readily occurs between members of the same and of different coronavirus groups providing opportunity for increased genetic diversity.
Efforts to identify the animal reservoir of SARS coronavirus led to the discovery of diverse bat coronaviruses in both group 1 and 2 that are closely related phylogenetically to different mammalian coronaviruses. It has been proposed that bat coronaviruses may indeed have been the ancestors of many mammalian coronaviruses. It is noteworthy that recent studies on the comparative evolution of animal and human coronaviruses have led to the conclusion that HCoV 229E and OC43, the causes of the common cold which are now globally endemic in humans, crossed species from their animal reservoirs (bats and cattle, respectively) to humans within the last 200 years, illustrating the fact that coronaviruses continue to cross species barriers and cause novel diseases.
Coronaviruses
Christopher J. Burrell, ... Frederick A. Murphy, in Fenner and White's Medical Virology (Fifth Edition), 2017
Abstract
Coronaviruses possess a distinctive morphology, the name being derived from the outer fringe, or “corona” of embedded envelope protein. Members of the family Coronaviridae cause a broad spectrum of animal and human diseases. Uniquely, replication of the RNA genome proceeds through the generation of a nested set of viral mRNA molecules. Until 2003, coronaviruses attracted little interest beyond causing mild upper respiratory tract infections. This changed dramatically in 2003 with the zoonotic SARS-CoV and the more recent emergence of MERS-CoV has confirmed the coronaviruses as significant causes of severe respiratory disease.
Human coronaviruses
Stephen N.J. Korsman MMed FCPath, ... Wolfgang Preiser MRCPath, in Virology, 2012
History
Coronavirus disease was first described in 1931, with the first coronavirus (HCoV-229E) isolated from humans in 1965. Until the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in late 2002, only two human coronaviruses (HCoV) were known – HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43. Once the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) had been identified, two further human coronaviruses were identified. Three groups of coronaviruses exist: group 1 (HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63), group 2 (HCoVOC43 and HCoV-HKU1), group 3 (no human CoVs as yet). SARS-CoV is an outlier to all three groups, although some place it in group 2.
Fig. 1. Coronavirus.
Fig. 2. Replication cycle of coronaviruses.
Table 1. Classification
| Order: Nidovirales | |
|---|---|
| Family: Coronaviridae | |
| Genus | Species |
| Coronavirus | Human coronavirus 229E |
| Human coronavirus OC43 | |
| Human coronavirus NL63 | |
| Human coronavirus HKU1 | |
| Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus | |
| Human enteric coronavirus | |
| Torovirus | Human torovirus |
Table 2. Structure and replication
| Structure | |
|---|---|
| |
Table 3. Structure and replication
| Replication |
|---|
Coronaviridae
In Virus Taxonomy, 2012
List of other related viruses which may be members of the genus Alphacoronavirus but have not been approved as species
| Carollia bat coronavirus 1FY2BA/Trinidad/2007 | (Ca-BatCoV 1FY2BA/Trinidad/2007) | |
| Chaerophon bat coronavirus 40/Kenya/2006 | (Ch-BatCoV 40/Kenya/2006) | |
| Chaerophon bat coronavirus 22/Kenya/2006 | (Ch-BatCoV 22/Kenya/2006) | |
| Chinese ferret badger coronavirus DM95/03 | [EU769560] | (CFBCoV DM95/03) |
| Eptesicus bat coronavirus 65/RM/2006 | [EF544566] | (Ep-BatCoV 65/RM/2006) |
| Ferret coronavirus | [GU338456; GU338457] | (FerCoV) |
| Glossophaga bat coronavirus 1CO7BA/Trinidad/2007 | (Gl-BatCoV 1CO7BA/Trinidad/2007) | |
| Kenya bat coronavirus BtKY12 | [GQ920811] | (BatCoV BtKY12) |
| Kenya bat coronavirus BtKY21 | [GQ920819] | (BatCoV BtKY21) |
| Myotis bat coronavirus HKU6/HK/21/2005 | [DQ249224; DQ249247] | (My-BatCoV HKU6/HK/21/2005) |
| Myotis bat coronavirus D2.2/Germany/2007 | (My-BatCoV D2.2/Germany/2007) | |
| Myotis bat coronavirus D8.38/Germany/2007 | (My-BatCoV D8.38/Germany/2007) | |
| Myotis bat coronavirus 3/RM/2006 | [EF544567] | (My-BatCoV 3/RM/2006) |
| Myotis bat coronavirus 48/RM/2006 | [EF544565] | (My-BatCoV 48/RM/2006) |
| Myotis Bat coronavirus M.mac/Australia/CoV034/2008 | [EU834951] | (My-BatCoV M.mac/Aus/CoV034/2008) |
| Miniopterus bat coronavirus 088/Australia/2007 | [EU834952] | (Mi-BatCoV 088/Australia/2007) |
| Miniopterus bat coronavirus HKU7/HK/13/2005 | [DQ249226; DQ249249] | (Mi-BatCoV HKU7/HK/13/2005) |
| Nyctalus bat coronavirus VM366/NLD/2008 | (Ny-BatCoV VM366/NLD/2008) | |
| Pipistrellus bat coronavirus D5.16/Germany/2007 | (Pi-BatCoV D5.16/Germany/2007) | |
| Pipistrellus bat coronavirus D5.71/Germany/2007 | (Pi-BatCoV D5.71/Germany/2007) | |
| Pipistrellus bat coronavirus VM312/NLD/2008 | (Pi-BatCoV VM312/NLD/2008) | |
| Raccoon dog coronavirus GZ43/03 | [EU769559; EF192159] | (RDCoV GZ43/03) |
| Rhinolophus bat coronavirus A970/SD/2005 | Rh-BatCoV A970/SD/2005 | |
| Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU10/GD/183/2005 | (Ro-BatCoV HKU10/GD/183/2005) | |
| Yellow-bellied weasel coronavirus GX/D726/2005 | [ABQ39953.1|] | (YWCoV GX/D726/05) |
Coronaviridae
In Fenner's Veterinary Virology (Fifth Edition), 2017
TURKEY CORONAVIRUS
Coronaviruses were first recognized in turkeys in the United States in 1951 and were associated with various enteric disease syndromes, variously termed “blue comb disease,” “mud fever,” “transmissible enteritis,” and “coronaviral enteritis.” The disease is present throughout the world, essentially wherever turkeys are raised. The virus can infect turkeys of all ages, but the most severe enteric disease is evident within the first few weeks of life. The onset is characterized by loss of appetite, watery diarrhea, dehydration, hypothermia, weight loss, and depression. Younger poults may die. The duodenum and jejunum are pale and flaccid, and the ceca filled with frothy, watery contents. The feces may be green to brown, watery, and may contain mucus and urates. The cloacal bursa is small (atrophic). Some turkeys may shed virus in their feces for up to 7 weeks, with virus transmission by the fecal–oral route. Turkey coronavirus infections also result in reduced egg production in breeder hens, and eggs may lack normal pigment and have a chalky shell surface. Interaction between turkey coronavirus and other agents (E. coli, astrovirus, etc.) accentuate the disease.
Only one serotype of turkey coronavirus is recognized. Turkey coronavirus is classified, along with other avian coronaviruses, as a gammacoronavirus. Although there is high sequence identity (85–90%) in the three major viral proteins (polymerase, M, and N) of turkey coronavirus and avian infectious bronchitis virus, their S proteins are quite different, and turkey coronavirus likely represents a recombinant coronavirus containing a spike gene of unknown origin. Whether the origin of turkey coronavirus reflects altered enteric tropism or adaptation of an infectious bronchitis-like virus to the turkey, or whether infectious bronchitis virus is in itself a variant of an ancestral enteric avian coronavirus, is also unclear. Recently, bovine coronavirus was shown experimentally to infect turkey poults, but natural cases have not been described.
Turkey coronavirus can also be isolated in embryonated eggs of turkeys and chickens using the amniotic route of inoculation. No licensed vaccines for turkey coronavirus are available. Treatment involves supportive care, and is not specific.
Coronavirus Pathogenesis
Susan R. Weiss, Julian L. Leibowitz, in Advances in Virus Research, 2011
I Introduction
Coronaviruses, a family of viruses within the Nidovirus superfamily, were divided into three groups (1, 2, 3), originally based on antigenic reactivity, later confirmed by genome sequencing. Recently, a new taxonomic nomenclature was adapted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2009) (http://talk.ictvonline.org/media/g/vertebrate-2008/default.aspx). As such, coronaviruses are divided into three genera (alpha, beta and gammacoronaviruses), corresponding to groups 1, 2, 3, within the subfamily coronavirinae, within the family of coronaviridae, and within the order or superfamily of nidovirales. Coronaviruses cause diseases in a variety of domestic and wild animals as well as in humans. Probably the most well-studied coronavirus is the betacoronavirus, murine coronavirus (MuCoV), mouse hepatitis virus (commonly referred to as MHV) that has long provided model systems for the study of central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as encephalitis and multiple sclerosis (MS) and acute hepatitis. While most coronavirus infections cause the common cold in humans, the emergence of the agent for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), also a betacoronavirus, demonstrated the potential for further significant human diseases to result from coronavirus infections. Indeed, shortly after the identification of the SARS-associated human coronavirus (HCoV), new coronavirus were identified in association with more severe infections in humans, NL63 an alphacoronavirus, believed to cause bronchiolitis in children, and HKU1, a betacoronavirus, associated with chronic respiratory disease in the elderly (Pyrc et al., 2007). This review will concentrate on the model MuCoV and the human SARS-CoV.
Viral Diseases Transmissible by Kissing
Jacobo Limeres Posse, ... Crispian Scully, in Saliva Protection and Transmissible Diseases, 2017
4.1.3 Coronaviruses (CoV)
Coronaviruses are common viruses that can infect humans, and animals as diverse as bats and alpacas. There are a number of Human coronaviruses and they usually cause respiratory infections—mostly mild illnesses such as the common cold. However, several coronaviruses including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), especially seen in Saudi Arabia or visitors to that area, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), seen mainly in China and travelers from there, can cause more severe and sometimes life-threatening human infections.52,57 Coronaviruses that cause severe acute respiratory infections have >50% mortality rates in older and immunosuppressed people.58 WIV1-CoV, a virus similar to SARS, could also be poised to cause epidemics.59
People living with or caring for someone with a coronavirus infection are most at risk of developing the infection themselves. Coronavirus transmission is mainly oral–fecal and respiratory from small droplets of saliva or on fomites. Oral–urine and saliva transmission of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV are also highly likely.11,12 Salivary cystatin D, a cysteine protease inhibitor, can inhibit replication of some coronaviruses.60 Although evidence is sparse, SARS-CoV appears to be transmitted primarily through saliva droplets. Kissing could constitute a route for transmission.
Respiratory Virus Vaccines
Andrew J. Broadbent, ... Kanta Subbarao, in Mucosal Immunology (Fourth Edition), 2015
Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses are frequent causes of the common cold, causing URTIs throughout the world, in all age groups, leading to millions of days of work and school absence, physician visits, and frequent inappropriate antibiotic use (Greenberg, 2011). Coronaviruses are transmitted by respiratory droplets and are reported to cause 7–30% of common colds, with a peak prevalence in late fall, winter, and early spring.
The first human coronaviruses (HCoV) to be recognized as significant respiratory pathogens, HCoV-229E and OC43, were identified in the 1960s (Greenberg, 2011). Whereas infection with the majority of coronaviruses is associated with self-limiting URT symptoms in otherwise healthy individuals, a coronavirus was identified as the agent responsible for SARS in 2003 (Drosten et al., 2003; Ksiazek et al., 2003). The SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in the Guangdong province of China in November 2002 and spread to 32 countries, leading to 8096 cases and 774 deaths worldwide by the time the outbreak was brought under control in June 2003 (WHO, 2004). Subsequently, heightened international surveillance for coronaviruses led to the identification of the strains HCoV-NL63, NH, and HKU1 in 2004–2005 (Greenberg, 2011) and the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 (Zaki et al., 2012). MERS-CoV was identified in 699 individuals between September 2012 and June 2014 with 209 fatalities (WHO, 2014).
Coronaviruses
E.J. Snijder, ... J. Ziebuhr, in Advances in Virus Research, 2016
Abstract
Coronaviruses are animal and human pathogens that can cause lethal zoonotic infections like SARS and MERS. They have polycistronic plus-stranded RNA genomes and belong to the order Nidovirales, a diverse group of viruses for which common ancestry was inferred from the common principles underlying their genome organization and expression, and from the conservation of an array of core replicase domains, including key RNA-synthesizing enzymes. Coronavirus genomes (~ 26–32 kilobases) are the largest RNA genomes known to date and their expansion was likely enabled by acquiring enzyme functions that counter the commonly high error frequency of viral RNA polymerases. The primary functions that direct coronavirus RNA synthesis and processing reside in nonstructural protein (nsp) 7 to nsp16, which are cleavage products of two large replicase polyproteins translated from the coronavirus genome. Significant progress has now been made regarding their structural and functional characterization, stimulated by technical advances like improved methods for bioinformatics and structural biology, in vitro enzyme characterization, and site-directed mutagenesis of coronavirus genomes. Coronavirus replicase functions include more or less universal activities of plus-stranded RNA viruses, like an RNA polymerase (nsp12) and helicase (nsp13), but also a number of rare or even unique domains involved in mRNA capping (nsp14, nsp16) and fidelity control (nsp14). Several smaller subunits (nsp7–nsp10) act as crucial cofactors of these enzymes and contribute to the emerging “nsp interactome.” Understanding the structure, function, and interactions of the RNA-synthesizing machinery of coronaviruses will be key to rationalizing their evolutionary success and the development of improved control strategies.
Noninfluenza Respiratory Viruses
Michael G. Ison, Nelson Lee, in Infectious Diseases (Fourth Edition), 2017
Nature
Coronaviruses are large, lipid-enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. Human coronaviruses (e.g. hCoV 229E, OC43, NL63) commonly cause mild upper respiratory tract infections, although occasionally result in more severe disease in immunocompromised individuals.77 However, two novel human coronaviruses, the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and a recently identified Middle East respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (MERS-CoV) may cause serious viral pneumonitis, leading to hospitalizations and deaths.78,79,289 Viral genome analyses revealed that SARS-CoV belongs to Group B and MERS-CoV belongs to Group C betacoronavirus, respectively, and both are closely related to coronavirus strains found in bats.78–80 Intermediate mammalian hosts, such as civet cats, have been implicated for SARS-CoV before its adaptation for human transmission, and emerging evidence (through virus or antibody detection) suggest that the dromedary camels are likely the host for MERS-CoV.78,79,81,290 The surface spike glycoprotein (S-protein) of coronaviruses is a key virulence factor which attaches the virus to host cells, determining its host range and tissue tropism, and it is a target of the neutralizing antibodies. SARS-CoV uses human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-II) as the primary cellular receptor; the human cellular C-type lectin (DC/L-SIGN) may be the alternative.82 MERS-CoV has been shown to bind to dipeptidyl peptidase 4, (DPP4; also called CD26), an interspecies-conserved protein found on the surface of several cell types, including the non-ciliated cells in human airways, which can explain its broadened host range and its ability to cause cross-species, zoonotic transmission.83
from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/coronavirus
“Snake Pneumonia” – Coronavirus Outbreak in China Traced to Snakes by Genetic Analysis
Patients who became infected with the virus were exposed to wildlife animals at a wholesale market, where seafood, poultry, snakes, bats, and farm animals were sold.
Emerging viral infections — from bird flu to Ebola to Zika infections — pose major threats to global public health, and understanding their origins can help investigators design defensive strategies against future outbreaks. A new study provides important insights on the potential origins of the most recent outbreak of viral pneumonia in China, which started in the middle of December and now is spreading to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan. The findings are published early online in the Journal of Medical Virology.
The study notes that patients who became infected with the virus — which is a type of virus called a coronavirus and was named 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization — were exposed to wildlife animals at a wholesale market, where seafood, poultry, snakes, bats, and farm animals were sold.
By conducting a detailed genetic analysis of the virus and comparing it with available genetic information on different viruses from various geographic locations and host species, the investigators concluded that the 2019-nCoV appears to be a virus that formed from a combination of a coronavirus found in bats and another coronavirus of unknown origin. The resulting virus developed a mix or “recombination” of a viral protein that recognizes and binds to receptors on host cells. Such recognition is key to allowing viruses to enter host cells, which can lead to infection and disease.
Finally, the team uncovered evidence that the 2019-nCoV likely resided in snakes before being transmitted to humans. Recombination within the viral receptor-binding protein may have allowed for cross-species transmission from snake to humans.
“Results derived from our evolutionary analysis suggest for the first time that snake is the most probable wildlife animal reservoir for the 2019-nCoV,” the authors wrote. “New information obtained from our evolutionary analysis is highly significant for effective control of the outbreak caused by the 2019-nCoV-induced pneumonia.”
An accompanying editorial notes that although the ultimate control of emerging viral infections requires the discovery and development of effective vaccines and/or antiviral drugs, currently licensed antiviral drugs should be tested against the 2019-nCoV.
Reference: “Homologous recombination within the spike glycoprotein of the newly identified coronavirus may boost cross‐species transmission from snake to human” by Wei Ji, Wei Wang, Xiaofang Zhao, Junjie Zai and Xingguang Li, 22 January 2020, Journal of Medical Virology.
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25682
Coronavirus Death Toll Hits 25 As Beijing Confirms 830 Patients Infected
Summary:
- 8 Chinese cities, more than 23 million people, effectively under quarantine
- Multiple cases across the world - from Scotland to Singapore and USA
- 830 Infected in mainland China according to Chinese officials (Mainland China: 830 Taiwan: 1 Macau: 2 Hong Kong: 2 Vietnam: 2 Thailand: 3 Singapore: 1 Japan: 1 South Korea: 1 US: 1).
- 25 Dead (following 1st death outside Wuhan)
- WHO says "not the time to declare a global health emergency"
- Patient in Texas recently traveled to Wuhan
- WHO estimates coronavirus is about as contagious as the Spanish flu, more than twice as infectious as the common flu.
巴丢草 Badiucao✔@badiucao
In #Wuhan，people are collapsing on streets due to the deadly #WuhanPneumonia .
so helpless.#WuhanCoronavirus #WuhanOutbreak
* * *
Update (1920ET): As Friday begins in Beijing, Chinese state media has announced that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China has climbed to 830, while the number of deaths has climbed to 25. As Beijing expands its efforts to crack down on the virus ahead of the LNY holiday, media reports claim that Beijing has requested the closing of all indoor activities involving more than 100 people.
Meanwhile, more disturbing videos out of Wuhan are circulating online as reports about a growing number of sick health-care workers circulate in the Hong Kong press.
Alejo Schapire✔@aschapire
Siguen llegando imágenes tranquilizadoras de China.
In other news, US lawmakers are set to be briefed on the virus Friday morning.
* * *
Update (1750ET): Japan’s health ministry confirmed a second case of coronavirus on Friday, reported Reuters.
The infected man who lives in Wuhan, China, traveled to Japan on Sunday -- has been hospitalized in Tokyo, the health ministry said in a statement.
Details are limited at the moment. There was no mention of how many people the infected man came in contact with before being quarantined. New reports out of the UK are claiming that 14 people are now being tested for the virus after earlier reports said 3 people in Scotland were under quarantine as suspected carriers of the virus.
Meanwhile, the number of cities in Hubei province facing a travel ban/lockdown/quarantine has been expanded to eight: Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi, Xiantao, Qianjiang, Zhijiang and Lichuan.
SCMP has also released some more details about the first death outside of Hubei: An 80-year-old man died in the town of Hebei after spending two months in Wuhan visiting relatives.
Back in Wuhan, ride-share company Didi has suspended its service, as China’s finance ministry announced that 1 billion yuan ($144 million) would be used by Hubei authorities to halt the spread of the illness.
Also, in the latest sign that the regime in Beijing hasn't kept its promise of complete transparency, the SCMP reports that health-care workers in Wuhan are getting sick at a rate that is faster than previously revealed. Initially, Chinese authorities insisted that health care workers weren't being sickened, indicating that the virus didn't spread via human to human contact. But we've since learned that this was a lie.
Fifteen cases of the coronavirus have been officially reported among health care workers in the city, though doctors say the real number is much higher.
Just as we expected, the situation in Wuhan has gotten so out of hand that videos of health-care workers collapsing from exhaustion are circulating online.
Gregor Peter@L0gg0lShocking video said to be from a Wuhan hospital. Shows medical staff collapsing due to exhaustion(?) pic.twitter.com/rhAO6QQhOW #ncov2019
If it seems like every person who managed to escape Wuhan is carrying the virus, here's one possible explanation: the WHO estimated that the coronavirus has a Ro (a measure of how contagious a virus is) of 2, equivalent to the Spanish flu that sickened 500 million during the first half of the 20th century. The common flu, by comparison, has a Ro of 0.9.
* * *
Update (1600ET): Markets recovered on Thursday after the WHO declined to label the coronavirus as a global pandemic threat (though we suspect they might change their view once the market has closed).
But now that Beijing's shock-and-awe approach to containing the viral panic appears to have convinced health officials that the virus won't make it to the next generation of transmission, it's worth remembering that Beijing's attempt to quarantine more than 20 million people was hardly comprehensive.
For examples, look at this Vice story, which claims one woman evaded airport checks by taking medication that lowered a fever. According to Vice, the Chinese embassy in Paris is hoping to speak with her after she visited a Michelin-starred restaurant and shared the whole experience on WeChat.
The warning came after one woman from Wuhan took medicine to bring down her temperature to avoid detection as she boarded a flight to France, where she dined at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
The woman was heavily criticized for her actions after she posted photos and details of her trip on WeChat. On Wednesday night the Chinese embassy in France responded with a warning and asked the woman to contact their emergency phone number.
Some people won't let the risk of contagion spoil their holiday plans.
* * *
Update (1530ET): 7News reports that an individual suspected of coronavirus infection has been quarantined in Sydney.
* * *
Update (1510ET): Investigators are reportedly examining another potential case of coronavirus in Texas's Brazos County.
FXHedge@FxhedgersPossible coronavirus case in Texas being investigated in Brazos County - DMN
The patient recently traveled from Wuhan and is reportedly suffering from symptoms similar to those who have been infected by the virus .
Meanwhile, a passenger at LAX has been quarantined after showing symptoms of the virus. That patient arrived at LAX from Mexico City and exhibited "disturbing" symptoms, according to health officials, per Fox 5.
This development comes a day after Los Angeles County public health officials said it was “very possible” the area will see at least one patient, given the number of people traveling between the Southland and China.
* * *
Update (1325ET): The World Health Organization, after a second day of meetings, have decided AGAINST declaring an international virus alarm. The panel was reportedly split on the decision and may revise the decision but for now states that "now is not the time" to declare an emergency.
“Make no mistake: This is an emergency in China,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“But it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one.”
* * *
Update (1300ET): CNBC's Eunice Yoon just provided a shocking update to the status of the deadly virus in China:
"7 cities and 23 million people are effectively under quarantine."
The cities under effective martial law - with all travel in, around, and out halted - are Wuhan, Huanggang, Zhijiang, Ezhou, Qianjiang, Chibi, and Xiantao.
The Exchange✔@CNBCTheExchange
CNBC's @onlyyoontv breaks down what's happening on the ground in China with the coronavirus spreading on @CNBCTheExchange . What cities are closed, how many people are impacted, the precautions they're taking and the huge impact on the Lunar New Year.
That is more people quarantined than the population of Florida (21.6m).
Outside of China, cases keep appearing (map does not include recent cases in Scotland and Ireland):
* * *
Update (1150ET): If you haven't cancelled those tickets to Wuhan yet, you might want to hold off: The State Department has just reverted its safety warning on travel to China to "exercise caution" from "reconsider your travel plans".
Clearly, somebody in the Chinese government complained, and with US stocks deep in the red, it seems the Trump Administration was perceptive.
After all, the point is to convince the public not to panic.
* * *
Update (1130ET): As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases nears 650 (the latest count put the number at 647), the US State Department has decided to reassure Americans that they are 'safe' from the virus.
China has nearly competed its quarantine of four cities in Hubei, even as experts warn it won't be enough. As millions prepared to travel, George Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned the Chinese public to stay home during the holiday season, warning that this was a "crucial time" to stop the virus.
With 444 confirmed cases, Wuhan remains the epicenter of the epidemic. Reports about another virus-related death are circulating on social media, along with a terrifying video of first-responders in full-body gear treating an individual who had seemingly collapsed in the middle of the road.
Turkish Market@kamerknc
That's not exactly reassuring.
Meanwhile, in Wuhan, shortages of medical supplies and facemasks are already prompting hospitals, universities and charities to reach out to the surrounding area for donations.
But sure - everything is under control.
* * *
Update (1045ET): Just in case you had plans to celebrate LNY at a fish market in Wuhan, the US government has published a travel warning advising Americans to 'reconsider traveling to China' amid the latest viral outbreak.
- U.S. URGES TRAVELERS TO RECONSIDER CHINA VISITS DUE TO VIRUS
Even if you made it to Wuhan at this point, one might encounter difficulties trying to enter the city, especially as a foreigner.
* * *
Update (0950ET): The BBC is reporting that a suspected case of coronavirus has been detected in Scotland.
Note: These are only suspected cases - not yet confirmed.
James Shaw@JGBS3 people who've recently travelled from Wuhan to Scotland are being treated as suspected cases of Coronavirus.
The head of infection medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Professor Jurgen Haas, said all 3 had respiratory symptoms and had been in Wuhan in the last 14 days.
If confirmed, this would be the first case of the virus in the UK, and would indicate another intrusion into the developed world, this time in Europe.
The UK Health Secretary said Friday morning that the coronavirus is "increasingly likely" to hit Britain, the Times of London reports.
According to CNN, the number of coronavirus cases confirmed around the world has climbed to 622 (once again, the graphic below is ever-so-slightly out of date):
And the scramble for facemasks continues, with Hong Kong stores swiftly running out of stock, and black-market sellers engaging in widespread gouging of terrified customers.
Tracy Alloway@tracyallowayThere’s a real scramble for face masks in Hong Kong. The only ones I could find were these: HK$850 for a box of 20 (about US$100) ones, and some small ones for kids. People are still lining up to buy what’s left. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-22/china-viral-outbreak-triggers-travel-ban-in-city-at-epicenter?srnd=premium-asia …
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Update (0935ET): India's foreign office said Thursday that an Indian nurse in Saudi Arabia has been diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus.
"About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Corona virus," tweeted Vellamvelly Muraleedharan, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, on Thursday.
V. Muraleedharan✔@MOS_MEA
Spoke to @CGIJeddah on Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia due to Corona virus threat.
They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support. @MEAIndia @PMOIndia
V. Muraleedharan✔@MOS_MEA
Update from @CGIJeddah : About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Corona virus. Affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia https://twitter.com/MOS_MEA/status/1220301317391826951 …
V. Muraleedharan✔@MOS_MEA
Spoke to @CGIJeddah on Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia due to Corona virus threat.
They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support. @MEAIndia @PMOIndia
Cases have also been reported in Russia, Hong Kong and Macau, in addition to all of the countries listed below:
Breaking News Feed@pzfConfirmed cases of Coronavirus:
- China
- US
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Japan
- Taiwan
- South Korea
- Vietnam
- Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's economy depends on millions of migrant workers, a group that includes many Indians.
* * *
Update (0841ET): Beijing says the number of confirmed Wuhan cases in China has climbed to 634, bringing the global total to 641.
Here's a breakdown of cases by region (though it might be slightly out of date, it gets the point across):
In keeping with China's insistence that the Wuhan virus is far less deadly than the 2003 SARS outbreak, the SCMP reports that almost half of the 17 people who have succumbed to the virus so far were aged 80 or older, and most of them had pre-existing health conditions. All of those who died, 13 men and four women so far, were from the central province of Hubei, and were treated in hospitals in its capital, Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak. Chinese authorities have quarantined most of the biggest sources in the province.
Here's some more information on the victims, including the types of illnesses they faced:
At least nine of those who died had pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease. Eight were in their eighties, two in their seventies, five in their sixties and one man was in his fifties. The youngest woman was 48 and had a pre-existing condition.
One 89-year-old man, surnamed Chen, had a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other conditions. He began experiencing symptoms on January 13, including difficulty breathing but not fever. Five days later, he was admitted to the Wuhan Union Hospital with severe breathing difficulties, and tested positive for pneumonia. He died the following evening.
The 48-year-old woman, surnamed Yin, had suffered from diabetes and had also had a stroke. She first had a fever, aches and pains on December 10 and her condition slowly deteriorated. She was treated at two hospitals in Wuhan before she died on Monday.
Officials in Beijing have been cautious about making definitive statements about the origins and characteristics of the disease, including its incubation period, saying more investigation was needed.
"There’s still a need for further study of the virus over time," said Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"As for the impact on younger people, according to current epidemiology and what we know right now, they really aren't susceptible," he said.
Patients as young as 15 have been infected with the pneumonia-like virus, according to Wuhan health officials. There are now more than 570 confirmed cases, including some reported in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
* * *
Update (0800ET): CNA, an English-language news website based across Asia, has just reported that Singapore has confirmed the first case of the Wuhan coronavirus.
In a media briefing on Thursday evening, the Ministry of Health said the carrier is a 66-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan. The man arrived in Singapore with his family on Jan. 20 after flying in from Guangzhou via China Southern. The man reported having a soar throat on the flight, but no fever.
Earlier, St. Petersburg reportedly confirmed its third case of the Wuhan virus.
The man traveled to Singapore General on Wednesday, and was immediately placed in isolation. He tested positive for the virus at 6 pm local time on Thursday. Singaporean authorities have already begun a contact tree, and are isolating all those with whom the suspect had contact.
The diagnosis is just the latest indication that, even as more Chinese cities cancel LNY celebrations, too many Chinese, including Chinese from Wuhan, have already traveled abroad. And the week-long holiday doesn't even start until Saturday.
This live NYT map of confirmed Wuhan cases appears to be out-of-date, despite having just been updated.
The number of confirmed cases is closer to 600. Still, it gets the point across.
* * *
Update (0700ET): Beijing is reportedly planning to quarantine a third city in Hubei Province, where the coronavirus outbreak originated, while a fourth city in the province is planning to shut down train travel.
Media reports claim that Chibi, a city with half a million Chinese, will be quarantined like Wuhan and Huanggang. Meanwhile, Ezhou, a city with 1 million people in Hubei, is seeing some transportation shut down.
Meanwhile, officials in Beijing have joined several other Chinese cities in cancelling Chinese New Year celebrations.
Eunice Yoon✔@onlyyoontv
#China locks down more cities due to #WuhanCoronavirus. Huanggang (7.5mln pop.) will suspend public bus, railway from midnight (11a ET). Internet cafes, movie theaters, tourist sites, entertainment venues temporarily closed. Ezhou (1mln pop.) said it shut train stations.
Eunice Yoon✔@onlyyoontv
Beijing joins Wuhan, Zhejiang, Macau in canceling #LunarNewYear celebrations. #China capital’s culture & tourism bureau says all public gathering activities, incl. traditional temple fairs, are off. (Holiday is normally major consumer spending time. #WuhanCoronavirus) @TheDomino
Conflicting report are alternatively claiming that Ezhou and Chibi will be the third Chinese city to face a quarantine. Does that mean officials are planning to quarantine the entire province?
BNO News✔@BNONews
BREAKING: Chinese officials say a 3rd city, Chibi with a population of nearly half a million, will be put on lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus
Healthwire@HealthwireMediaBREAKING: City of Ezhou becomes the third to be put under lockdown to contain the #coronavirus #China #virus @guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/coronavirus-panic-spreads-in-china-with-three-cities-in-lockdown?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet …
China virus: five cities locked down and Beijing festivities scrapped
Residents in affected cities hoard supplies and isolate themselves at home
theguardian.com
There have also been reports about a third patient being identified in St. Petersburg, while other cities, including Hong Kong, stock up on facemask supplies.
* * *
As cases of the new coronavirus popped up around the globe, Chinese health officials managed to assuage the worries of the public, and the market, by insisting that the new, deadly coronavirus that emerged late last month in Wuhan had been 'contained' and that the outbreak would swiftly die down.
Despite imposing some draconian travel bans, it's becoming increasingly clear that this isn't going to happen. Even after quarantining an entire city of 11 million people - Wuhan is the 7th largest city in China and larger than any US city - experts are warning that it's too late: The cat is already out of the bag.
But that won't stop Beijing from trying: Now that Wuhan has been effectively cut off, Chinese officials announced another city-wide quarantine on Thursday: Huanggang city, which is in Hubei province and situated close to Wuhan, will suspend outbound train and bus services, as well as all bus services within the city effective Friday. All public places, including movie theaters, have been ordered to close until further notice, practically guaranteeing that the quarantine will take a bite out of GDP. Though even after authorities cut off all flights, Reuters reports that a few airlines were still running flights out of Wuhan.
As the SCMP pointed out, Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, is five times larger than London.
The decision comes as more than 600 cases of the virus have now been confirmed. The death toll has been steady since yesterday at 17, as the WHO ponders whether to label the outbreak as a global pandemic risk.
Chinese state broadcasters shared images of Wuhan’s ghostly transport hubs, including the Hankou rail station, with all gates barred or blocked. Highway toll booths were shutting down as guards patrolled major highways. Inside the city, residents crowded into hospitals and rushed to buy up essential supplies from supermarkets and gas stations.
Interestingly, at least one Western journalist is reporting from Wuhan. We imagine Beijing allowed ABC access to the city to try and calm the growing panic in the West.
ABC News✔@ABC
.@ABC News' @BobWoodruff travels to Wuhan, China, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed 17 people, and gives an inside look on how airports and travelers are trying to prevent the virus from spreading. https://abcn.ws/36epjEx
As more barriers rise, one well-known public health expert known for his work on the SARS outbreak warned that the quarantines likely wouldn't be enough to stop the virus from becoming a global pandemic, according to the New York Times.
Dr. Guan Yi, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong who visited Wuhan earlier this week, warned there was a potential for the virus to spread rapidly despite the controls put in place Thursday morning.
"We have a chance to have a pandemic outbreak," said Dr. Guan, who was part of the team that identified the coronavirus that caused the deadly SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. SARS infected more than 8,000 people and killed nearly 800.
Dr. Guan also told Caixin, an influential Chinese magazine known for investigative reports, that he had traveled to Wuhan earlier in the week hoping to help track the virus’s animal source and control the epidemic. But he left, he said, feeling "powerless, very angry."
Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist at Columbia University who advised the Chinese government and the World Health Organization during the SARS outbreak, said that infected people outside Wuhan would continue to spread the disease.
"The horse is already out of the barn," he said.
Another expert warned that there could already be as many as 4,000 cases of coronavirus in Wuhan, meaning that the vast majority of infections likely haven't yet been reported.
Meanwhile, regulators around the world are scrambling to cut off flights from Wuhan (even though Beijing has supposedly cut off all rail and plane travel out of the city): The Philippines is the latest country to cut off flights from the city. The country's Civil Aeronautics Board added that flights from elsewhere in China would be placed under 'strict monitoring', according to CNN Philippines. Manila, the Philippines' crowded capital city, has started handing out 100,000 face masks.
The director of the country's Civil Aeronautics Board explained that, even though Beijing is quarantining entire cities, it's up to the Philippines to take their own steps to curb the outbreak.
"When you look at the seriousness of the outbreak, Wuhan should be the focus of attention," CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla told reporters.
"Even if they lift it, we have to look at our side first and make our own assessment. So our assessment is different from theirs, I mean, even their decision is different from ours," Arcilla said.
Experts have warned that quarantining an entire city of 11 million would be virtually impossible. But the nabobs in Beijing refuse to be deterred: Videos circulating on social media show Chinese police setting up barricades across roads leading out of the city. Anybody in Wuhan who had New Year's travel plans should probably cancel them and ask for a refund.
CNW@ConflictsWRoads leading to and from Wuhan have now been blocked as the city has been placed in quarantine to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus #China #Wuhan #Coronavirus
After a suspected case of coronavirus was discovered in Macau yesterday, officials in the special autonomous region warned that they might close all casinos in the territory, a move that would spoil the vacation plans of millions of Chinese planning to travel to Macau for the Chinese New Year. A second case was reportedly discovered on Thursday.
Across the world, a mildly risk-off mood is once again dominating markets. That means US stocks are one outbreak headline away from deeper declines.
Factbox: Latest on the coronavirus spreading in China and beyond
(Reuters) - The coronavirus outbreak that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, has killed 106 people in China and infected more than 4,520 globally, most of them in China.
The virus has caused alarm because it is still too early to know how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. Chinese officials say its incubation period could range from one to 14 days, and it is infectious during that time.
Here is what we know:
* As of Monday, the death toll in China had risen to 106, with 100 in Hubei province, authorities reported. Another 4,515 people in China had been infected. There were 2,714 confirmed cases in Hubei province, up from 1,423 on Sunday.
* Thailand and Hong Kong have each reported eight cases of infection; the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Macau have five each; Japan, South Korea and Malaysia each have reported four; France three; Vietnam and Canada two each, and one each in Germany, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Cambodia.
* No fatalities have been reported outside China.
* The previously unknown coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at a market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people.
* Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan on Monday to encourage medical workers as the government moved to show its determination to tackle the crisis.
* The World Health Organization said that while the outbreak was an emergency for China, it was not yet a global health emergency.
* Severe travel restrictions have been put in place in several Chinese cities. In Wuhan, urban transport is shut and outgoing flights suspended.
* Tangshan, China’s largest steelmaking city in northern Hebei province, suspended all public transit within the city.
* Beijing suspended most bus services to Hebei province.
* Among other measures to contain the virus, China halted all group tours, affecting tourism both at home and to other countries.
* China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has temporarily closed all tourist sites to prevent the virus spreading.
* The United States warned against travel to China, while Canada issued a warning against travel to Hubei province.
* Asian stocks extended a global selloff the virus raised concerns about a drag on global economic growth.
* South Korea said it was going “all out” to contain the outbreak and vowed to stabilize financial markets should volatility worsen.
* Countries including France, Italy, Japan, Australia, South Korea and the United States are working to evacuate citizens from Wuhan.
* Some experts believe the virus is not as dangerous as the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed nearly 800 people, or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed more than 700 people since 2012.
Compiled by Stephen Coates; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell, Robert Birsel
China counts 106 virus deaths as US, others move to evacuate
BEIJING (AP) — China’s death toll from a new viral disease that is causing mounting global concern rose by 25 to at least 106 on Tuesday as the United States and other governments prepared to fly their citizens out of the locked-down city at center of the outbreak.
The total includes the first death in Beijing, the Chinese capital, and 24 more fatalities in Hubei province, where the first illnesses from the newly identified coronavirus occurred in December.
Asian stock markets tumbled for a second day, dragged down by worries about the virus’s global economic impact.
The U.S. Consulate in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where authorities cut off most access Jan. 22 in an effort to contain the disease, was preparing to fly its diplomats and some other Americans out of the city on Wednesday. Japan and South Korea said they would send planes to Wuhan this week to evacuate their citizens. France, Mongolia and other governments also planned evacuations.
China’s increasingly drastic containment efforts began with the suspension of plane, train and bus links to Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. That lockdown has expanded to 17 cities with more than 50 million people in the most far-reaching disease-control measures ever imposed.
China extended the Lunar New Year holiday by three days to Sunday to reduce the risk of infection by keeping offices and factories nationwide closed and the public at home. Authorities in Shanghai, a global business center and home to 25 million people, extended the holiday in that city by an additional week to Feb. 9.
U.S. health officials expanded their recommendation for people to avoid non-essential travel to any part of China, rather than just Wuhan and other areas most affected by the outbreak.
Mongolia closed its vast border with China and North Korea said it was strengthening quarantine measures. Hong Kong and Malaysia are barring visitors from Hubei. Chinese travel agencies were ordered to cancel group tours nationwide.
There were 1,771 new cases confirmed in China on Monday, raising the national total to 4,515, according to the National Health Commission. It said 976 people were in serious condition.
The government has sent 6,000 extra medical workers to Wuhan from across China, including 1,800 who were due to arrive Tuesday, a commission official, Jiao Yahui, said at a news conference.
A baby boy was delivered by surgery in Wuhan after his 27-year-old mother was hospitalized as a “highly suspected” virus case, state TV reported. The mother, who has a fever and cough, was 37 weeks pregnant, or two weeks less than a standard full term.
Doctors wore protective masks and clothing for the delivery Friday at Union Hospital.
“It was unlikely for her to be able to give natural birth,” said the hospital’s deputy director of obstetrics, Zhao Yin. “After the baby was born, the mother would suffer less pressure in her lungs and she could get better treatment.”
Also Tuesday, the Education Ministry canceled English proficiency and other tests for students to apply to foreign universities. The ministry said the new semester for public schools and universities following Lunar New Year was postponed until further notice.
The Hong Kong government announced some government offices would remain closed until at least Monday and non-essential public employees were allowed to work from home.
Chinese financial markets were closed for the holiday, but stock indexes in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney all declined.
Beijing’s official response has “vastly improved” since the 2002-03 SARS outbreak, which also originated in China, but “fears of a global contagion are not put to bed,” said Vishnu Varathan at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
Airlines, resorts and other companies that rely on travel and tourism suffered steep losses. Prices of gold and bonds rose as traders moved money into safe haven holdings.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the world’s busiest, announced it was postponing the resumption of trading after the holiday by three days to Monday.
Scientists are concerned about the new virus because it is closely related to other diseases including SARS, which killed nearly 800 people.
So far, the new coronavirus doesn’t seem to spread as easily among people as SARS or influenza. Most of the cases that spread between people were of family members and health workers who had contact with patients. That suggests the new virus isn’t well adapted to infect people.
China has reported eight cases in Hong Kong and five in Macao, and more than 45 cases have been confirmed elsewhere in the world. Almost all involve mainland Chinese tourists or people who visited Wuhan.
On Tuesday, Taiwan said two 70-year-old tourists from Wuhan had been confirmed to have the disease, raising its total to seven cases. Thailand reported six members of a family from Hubei were new cases, raising its total to 14.
Germany confirmed its first case late Monday. Infections also have been confirmed in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada, Australia and Sri Lanka.
The five American cases — two in southern California and one each in Washington state, Chicago and Arizona — are people who had recently arrived from central China. Health officials said they had no evidence the virus was spreading in the United States and they believe the risk to Americans remains low.
During the SARS outbreak, Chinese authorities were criticized for reacting slowly and failing to disclose information. The government has responded more aggressively to the latest outbreak.
Wuhan is building two hospitals, one with 1,500 beds and another with 1,000, for the growing number of patients. The first is scheduled to be finished next week.
The coronavirus family includes the common cold but also more severe illnesses such as SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The new virus causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath and pneumonia.
The virus is thought to have spread to people from wild animals sold at a Wuhan market. China on Sunday banned trade in wild animals and urged people to stop eating meat from them.
from http://reuters.com
China virus toll crosses 130; Japan, U.S. evacuate citizens
BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States and Japan flew citizens out of the Chinese city at the epicenter of a new virus outbreak on Wednesday, as the death toll rose sharply to 132 and the first case appeared in the Middle East.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is confident in China’s ability to contain the coronavirus, but concern is mounting as health authorities reported the number of confirmed cases had jumped by 1,459 to 5,974.
The number of deaths from the flu-like virus rose by 26 to 132, almost all in the province of Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, the city where the virus emerged last month in a wild animal market. The central province of about 60 million people is under virtual lockdown.
“I was extremely worried that I was stuck there while the situation was changing very rapidly,” said Takeo Aoyama, who arrived in Tokyo on a chartered plane carrying 206 Japanese nationals out of Wuhan, with more flights planned.
“I feel really relieved,” Aoyama, an employee of Nippon Steel who was wearing a mask, told reporters at the airport in the Japanese capital.
Concern is also growing over the impact of the virus on the world’s second-biggest economy, with airlines cutting flights to China - British Airways is the latest to announce a suspension - and global companies curbing employees’ travel there.
Sectors from mining to luxury goods have been shaken by concerns about the possibility of a worst-case pandemic.
Hong Kong stocks took a beating on the first day of trading after the Lunar New Year break. Casino and financial stocks led the Hang Seng index 2.5% lower to a seven-month trough.
Regional markets, however, arrested their slide, with stocks in Japan, Australia, Korea and India steady or firmer and currencies mostly stable.
Chinese markets resume trade on Feb. 3.
“In our view, the worst is yet to come,” Japanese securities firm Momura said in a note, warning of a severe near-term blow to China’s economy.
ALL OPTIONS
But in what could be a major step toward reining in the disease, scientists in Australia said they had developed a lab-grown version of the coronavirus, the first to be recreated outside China.
As infections spread and the number of cases rises, numerous countries are scrambling to get citizens out of Wuhan while, at the same time, hoping to keep the virus at bay.
A U.S. government official who declined to be identified told Reuters a U.S. charter plane had left Wuhan. It had 220 people aboard, a U.S. diplomatic source added, with 50 diplomats and contractors among them.
Australia said it would help some citizens leave and then quarantine them on Christmas Island, a remote speck in the Indian Ocean best known for housing asylum seekers.
U.S. officials said the White House was weighing whether to suspend flights to China in what would be a drastic measure to control the spread of the disease.
“All options for dealing with infectious disease spread have to be on the table, including travel restrictions,” said U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar.
The White House is holding daily meetings on the outbreak and monitoring China-U.S. flights as a likely source of infections, sources briefed on the matter said, though it had decided against suspending air traffic for the time being.
TRANSMISSION
The number of cases in China now exceeds its tally of 5,327 infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus that killed about 800 people around the world in 2002 and 2003.
While some experts believe the new strain, known as “2019-nCoV”, is not as deadly as SARS, it has created alarm because it is spreading quickly and key features are still unknown, including its lethality.
Slideshow (13 Images)
Like other respiratory infections, it is spread by droplets from coughs and sneezes, with an incubation time from one to 14 days. There are signs it may also be able to spread before symptoms show.
Wuhan, with a population of 11 million, is racing to build two dedicated hospitals for victims, with the first 1,000-bed facility to be completed on Feb. 3. The second will have its capacity expanded to 1,600 beds from 1,300, the official People’s Daily said.
Nearly 60 cases have been reported in 15 other countries, including the United States, France and Singapore. Airports around the world are screening passengers from China.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) diagnosed its first case in a family from Wuhan, state news agency WAM said, citing the UAE health ministry. It was not immediately clear how many people were infected.
In Germany, four people from the same company were infected in what is being seen as one of the first cases of person-to-person transmission outside China.
The WHO has reported a suspected case of person-to-person transmission in Vietnam, and Japan has reported another.
In a possible breakthrough, researchers in the Australian city of Melbourne said they had developed the coronavirus in a laboratory, from an infected patient, and would share the sample with the WHO and others.
“Having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities,” said Julian Druce of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.
Reporting by Lusha Zhang, Gabriel Crossley, Tony Munroe, Huizhong Wu, Cheng Leng and Judy Hua in Beijing; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Matthias Blamont in Paris, Akira Tomoshige in Tokyo; Writing by Stephen Coates and Robert Birsel; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez
New Website Tracks Coronavirus Outbreak in Real Time
You’d have to be living under a very isolated rock to be unaware of the dangerous coronavirus outbreak centered on the city of Wuhan in China. The disease has infected several thousand people, and more than 100 have died. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have created a new tool to track and visualize the outbreak. In a world where it’s easy to spread incorrect information, having an authoritative and easily digestible source like this can be essential.
China allegedly sought to keep the epidemic under wraps, arresting people who posted about the virus on social media. However, the rapid spread of coronavirus infections soon made it impossible to hide. The Chinese government eventually sealed the city of Wuhan as it tries to get a handle on the situation, but many people left the city before that happened. Surrounding provinces have confirmed several dozen infections, and there are a handful of cases in other countries like Thailand, Japan, and the US.
Coronaviruses are a common cause of respiratory infections in humans — it’s one of the pathogens that can cause the “common cold.” However, some strains can be much more dangerous. For example, the 2003 SARS outbreak was a strain of coronavirus called SARS-CoV. The new strain doesn’t have a fancy acronym. It’s just known as the Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Out of over 4,000 infections, 106 have died and only 79 have completely recovered.
A coronavirus cross-section. Credit: Scientific Animations/CC BY-SA 4.0
The Johns Hopkins tool shows a map with circles indicating areas with confirmed infections. You can click on each one to get a count of infections, deaths, and recoveries. Smaller panels surround the map with additional data like a list of regions organized from most to fewest cases, a graph of infections over time, and a list of all the countries where coronavirus has hit.
The tracker will update with the most up-to-date official information as it is available. Some experts worry that the true number of infections is much higher than the reported total, but this is the best we have. The medical community has yet to reach a consensus on how this epidemic will play out, but most seem to think it will be less severe than SARS. You can keep an eye on the tracker to ease your mind, and you probably won’t have to break out the face mask.
How The New Coronavirus Compares to Past Zoonotic Outbreaks, in One Simple Chart
Since December 31, the Wuhan coronavirus has killed at least 170 people and infected more than 8,000 across 20 countries, including the US.
The outbreak isn't currently considered a pandemic, however, despite its rapid spread. But the World Health Organisation has declared it a global public-health emergency, despite China putting Wuhan and other nearby cities under quarantine to stop the virus' spread.
Here's how the Wuhan outbreak compares to other major virus outbreaks in the last 50 years.
So far, the coronavirus has the lowest fatality rate.
(Shayanne Gal/Business Insider)
The chart above does not include mosquito-borne viruses like Zika, malaria, and Dengue fever.
All of these diseases jumped from animals to people
According to experts, the new coronavirus likely originated in bats. More than 75 percent of emerging diseases originate in animals; these are called zoonotic diseases, meaning they can jump from animals to people.
At least 10 outbreaks in the last century have spilled over to humans from mammals like bats, birds, and pigs.
Ebola jumped from fruit bats in west Africa 40 years ago and has killed more than 13,500 people in multiple outbreaks. The Marberg virus, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome), and Nipah also originated in bats.
The H7N9 and H5N9 bird flus, meanwhile, jumped from infected poultry to people in Chinese markets, together killing more than 1,000 people.
The 2009-2010 swine flu pandemic (also known as H1N1) started, of course, in pigs. It killed nearly 300,000 people in a global pandemic and spread to 214 countries in less than a year.
According to experts, diseases will continue to spill over from animals to humans as the global population grows. The more people there are on Earth, the more our species moves into wild habitats and encounters creatures that harbour viruses.
"Infectious diseases will continue to emerge and re-emerge. I think it's part of the world we live in now," Eric Toner, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, previously told Business Insider.
"We're in an age of epidemics because of globalization, because of encroachment on wild environments."
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
Coronavirus Contains "HIV Insertions", Stoking Fears Over Artificially Created Bioweapon
China coronavirus toll rises to 259, U.S. border curbs disrupt more flights
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The number of deaths from a coronavirus epidemic in China has risen to 259, the country’s health authority said on Saturday, as the United States announced new border curbs on foreign nationals who have been in China.
The province of Hubei, the center of the epidemic, remains under virtual quarantine, with roads sealed off and public transport shut down, but small numbers of travelers continue to breach the lockdown.
Amid fears that the virus could spread further overseas, the United States announced measures to restrict entry to foreign nationals who have recently been in China. All three major U.S. airlines also said on Friday they would cancel flights to mainland China.
Gauden Galea, the World Health Organization representative for China, said trade and travel restrictions were not needed.
“We would want countries to focus on the mitigation efforts of identifying the possible importation of cases and responding to any domestic outbreak,” Galea told Reuters on Saturday.
Around two dozen countries have reported confirmed cases of the virus, but the vast majority of those infected remain in China.
Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand said the international travel bans had forced them to suspend their direct flights to China from Feb. 9.
Nearly 10,000 flights have been suspended since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, according to travel and data analytics firm Cirium.
Many nations have put on special charter flights to repatriate citizens from China.
More than 300 South Koreans arrived home on Saturday on a second charter flight from China and have been transported to a facility where they will be isolated for two weeks, the health ministry said. Seven people on the flight exhibited symptoms and were sent immediately to hospital.
People wearing face masks look for products at a supermarket, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Cities across China have continued to implement special measures aimed at curbing the spread of the pathogen. Tianjin, a city in northern China with around 15 million people, said all schools and businesses would be suspended until further notice.
A senior leadership group tasked with handling the crisis promised to take action to prevent a big surge in the number of people traveling after the extended Lunar New Year holiday.
The team led by Premier Li Keqiang said they would coordinate with local governments to stagger the times when people are asked to go back to work.
The U.S.-based China Human Rights Defenders urged the Chinese government to ease restrictions on movement and counter discrimination against residents of Wuhan and Hubei, adding that censorship had contributed to the spread of the virus.
“Human rights must not be a casualty of the government’s work to contain the coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 200 people and affected millions,” the group said.
The WHO, which declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday, has praised China’s response to the outbreak.
BUSINESSES, EVENTS DISRUPTED
Still, efforts to contain the virus have caused major disruptions and threaten global economic growth.
Slideshow (14 Images)
The United Nations has announced it has moved a key round of talks on a new biodiversity treaty originally scheduled to take place in Kunming in southwest China on Feb. 24. The talks will now take place in Rome.
Several high-profile sporting events have also been moved or postponed, the latest a badminton Olympic qualifier in Hainan province.
Walmart Inc, the world’s largest retailer, announced it was temporarily limiting “non-business critical travel” to China, while farm equipment maker Deere & Co temporarily closed its facilities in China, the latest of dozens of major companies restricting travel and operations due to the outbreak.
China’s National Health Commission said there were 2,102 new confirmed infections in China during Friday, bringing the cumulative total to 11,791.
The local health commission of Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, earlier on Saturday reported 45 new deaths from the outbreak on Friday, bringing the total to 249. The other death on Friday was in the southwest city of Chongqing.
Hubei confirmed 1,347 new cases of infection on Friday, with the total reaching 7,153 by the end of the day.
Hubei’s provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus is thought to have originated, reported 576 new confirmed cases over the day, and also saw 33 deaths from the virus. A total of 192 people in Wuhan have now died.
(Graphic: Comparing outbreaks - here)
Reporting by Winni Zhou and David Stanway in Shanghai, Yilei Sun and Gabriel Crossley in Beijing, Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong, Joori Roh in Seoul an Nick Mulveney in Melbourne; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Jane Wardell.
