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I have been watching this for a few months now. It was first identified last Spring in the middle east. The first batch of infections were limited to the Arabian peninsula and a second batch occurred in the late summer that included greater parts of the Mid East, and then in early fall - but those were also people who lived or traveled to the region.
However, this most recent batch (cases 10, 11, and 12) involved a family in the UK, one of whom had traveled to the region but the others had not. This strongly suggests person-to-person transmission and ups the stakes considerably for a public health concern. Though the transmission between humans is thought to be uncommon at this point.
The new virus (novel coronavirus), believed to be of the bat variety (rather than bird or pig), has now killed half of those infected (six of 12). That's a pretty scary mortality rate . . . though it should be said that it's too early to tell what the rate would be after the virus is known and identified more quickly in cases. Also, I believe most of the deaths had compromised immune systems. But experts believe that this new bug infects the body more quickly than SARS did. (New Coronavirus Infects Human Airways Faster Than SARS - Bloomberg).
Definitely something to keep an eye on. (I think this stuff is fascinating and scary. I setup a Google news alert back in October. For a while it was quiet but it has been very active lately with the new developments).
CBS news today:
Doctors in the U.S. speculate that the virus could show up here - but for now, it is believed to be difficult to acquire.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/experts-new-sars-like-virus-could-show-up-in-u-s-/
However, this most recent batch (cases 10, 11, and 12) involved a family in the UK, one of whom had traveled to the region but the others had not. This strongly suggests person-to-person transmission and ups the stakes considerably for a public health concern. Though the transmission between humans is thought to be uncommon at this point.
The new virus (novel coronavirus), believed to be of the bat variety (rather than bird or pig), has now killed half of those infected (six of 12). That's a pretty scary mortality rate . . . though it should be said that it's too early to tell what the rate would be after the virus is known and identified more quickly in cases. Also, I believe most of the deaths had compromised immune systems. But experts believe that this new bug infects the body more quickly than SARS did. (New Coronavirus Infects Human Airways Faster Than SARS - Bloomberg).
Definitely something to keep an eye on. (I think this stuff is fascinating and scary. I setup a Google news alert back in October. For a while it was quiet but it has been very active lately with the new developments).
CBS news today:
Mysterious SARS-like coronarvirus claims another life - CBS NewsA patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune system.
A total of 12 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease, six of whom have died.
The virus was first identified last year in the Middle East. Most of those infected had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan, but the person who just died is believed to have caught it from a relative in Britain, where there have been four confirmed cases.
Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.
Britain's Health Protection Agency has said while it appears the virus can spread from person to person, "the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low."
Doctors in the U.S. speculate that the virus could show up here - but for now, it is believed to be difficult to acquire.
"I wouldn't be shocked if it came here," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Dr. Susan Gerber, a medical epidemiologist in the CDC's Division of Viral Diseases, agreed.
"It could happen," she said. "That's why the CDC is working closely with the World Health Organization and other international partners."
The CDC has advised doctors to ask patients with certain symptoms about their recent travels. Symptoms of infection with the novel coronavirus include an acute respiratory infection, fever and a cough.
The new virus, which the WHO is calling NCoV, or novel coronavirus, has a range of effects. One patient in the United Kingdom had only mild symptoms, but others have suffered pneumonia and kidney failure.
"Once it gets you, it's a very serious infection," Schaffner said.
Fortunately, he added, the virus is "very difficult to acquire."
So far most of the people who've caught the virus have been in the Middle East. It's suspected that, like SARS, the virus originated in animals. A study published in November found that genetically, the new coronavirus was most closely related to viruses found in bats.
In all but two cases, the virus has not spread from person to person. And in most cases, patients have not infected family members. Health care workers taking care of infected patients have also not become ill.
"There is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission where you see a chain of many cases going person to person to person," Gerber said.
"People shouldn't freak out," she added. "There's no evidence that this virus is easily spread, say, across a room."
http://www.ktvq.com/news/experts-new-sars-like-virus-could-show-up-in-u-s-/