New coronavirus can spread between humans--but it started in a wildlife market
Almost 20 years ago, a virus appeared in wildlife markets in southern China, and it was unlike any the world had seen. It was winter 2003, and sufferers complained of fever, chills, headache, and dry coughs—all symptoms you might expect during cold and flu season.
But this condition would progress into a lethal form of pneumonia, one that left honeycomb-shaped holes in people’s lungs and generated severe respiratory failure in a quarter of patients. While most infections only spread to three additional people, some of the afflicted became “superspreaders”—patients who unwittingly transmitted the disease to dozens at a time. By the time the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) ended seven months later, more than 8,000 cases and 800 deaths stretched across 32 countries.
That’s why international officials are now concerned over a new, SARS-related virus that has emerged in central China. The disease has spread to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen—as well as to neighboring Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea—in just three weeks. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first U.S. based case in Washington State
“Human-to-human spread has been confirmed [but] how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading remains unknown,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said in a press conference where she announced the development of a rapid genetic test for the Wuhan virus. “Right now we are testing for this virus at CDC, but in the coming weeks we anticipate sharing these tests with domestic and international partners.”
As of Wednesday, nearly 450 cases have been reported globally along with nine deaths, and the World Health Organization plans to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to decide if the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern. Epidemiologists suspect thousands of cases likely exist. Last Friday, the CDC announced that screening for the new virus would begin at three major U.S. airports, but the first U.S. patient arrived before this surveillance had even begun.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/new-coronavirus-spreading-between-humans-how-it-started/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Science_20200122&rid=FB26C926963C5C9490D08EC70E179424
= new reply since forum marked as read
