The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency over a new coronavirus that has killed at the least 490 people in mainland China and two more elsewhere following an outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
More than 24,500 cases have been reported worldwide, most of them in China’s Hubei province. A man from Wuhan died in the Philippines on February 2 and Hong Kong reported its first death on February 4.
The infection is now more widespread than the 2002-2003 extreme acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which also originated in China, when it comes to affected folks but not deaths.
Here’s what you must know:
What’s coronavirus?
In response to the WHO, coronaviruses are a household of viruses that cause illness ranging from the widespread cold to more severe ailments comparable to SARS and Center East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
These viruses have been originally transmitted between animals and people. SARS, as an example, was believed to have been transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS travelled from a type of camel to humans.
Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that haven’t yet infected humans.
The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Below an electron microscope, the image of the virus is reminiscent of a solar corona.
A novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and named 2019-nCoV, is a new strain that had not been beforehand recognized in humans.
Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.
What are the signs?
In line with the WHO, signs of an infection embrace fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, SARS, kidney failure and even death.
The incubation period of the coronavirus remains unknown. Some sources say it could be between 10 and 14 days.
How deadly is it?
Some consultants say it will not be as deadly as other types of coronavirus similar to SARS, which killed practically 800 individuals worldwide, more than 300 in China alone – during a 2002-2003 outbreak that additionally originated in China.
MERS, which didn’t spread as widely, was more deadly, killing one-third of these it infected.
In China, nonetheless, the an infection is more widespread than SARS when it comes to case numbers.
The place have cases been reported?
Most cases and deaths have been reported in China – the vast majority in Hubei Province.
Thus far, Hong Kong and the Philippines have reported one dying every from the new virus outside of mainland China.
The virus has spread to many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Australia, Europe, North America and the Center East. Nearly all of cases outside China are amongst people who recently travelled to the country.
Read more about which international locations have confirmed cases here.
What is being done to stop it from spreading?
Scientists are working on a vaccine but have warned one is unlikely to be available for mass distribution before 2021.
Chinese authorities have effectively sealed off Wuhan, and have placed restrictions on travel to and from a number of different cities, affecting some fifty six million people.
The move was meant to “resolutely contain the momentum of the epidemic spreading” and protect lives, the central city’s special command centre in opposition to the virus said, in accordance with state broadcaster CCTV.
Many airlines have cancelled flights to China, while some nations have banned Chinese nationals from coming into and have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan.
Where did the virus originate?
Chinese health authorities are nonetheless trying to find out the origin of the virus, which they are saying probably came from a seafood market in Wuhan the place wildlife was additionally traded illegally.
The WHO also says an animal supply appears most likely to be the first supply of the outbreak.
On February 2, officers in Hubei said the virus had a ninety six p.c concordance with an already-known bat-borne coronavirus. Chinese scientists beforehand mentioned snakes as a possible source.
Is this a global emergency?
The outbreak constitutes a worldwide health emergency, the WHO has said.
The decision to sound the highest-degree alarm was made after the primary cases of human-to-human transmission outside China had been confirmed.
The international health alert is a call on international locations around the world to coordinate their response underneath the steerage of the United Nations health agency.
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