China Reports First Death From Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak

(Bloomberg) -- One man has died from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the first death linked to a new coronavirus.

Of 41 people diagnosed with the virus, seven are in a critical condition, six have been discharged and the rest are stable, the municipal health commission of Wuhan city said in a statement on Sunday.

Scientists have speculated that a novel coronavirus might have caused the Wuhan outbreak as officials there ruled out other coronaviruses -- including SARS and MERS-CoV -- as well as influenza, avian influenza and adenovirus. Some patients worked at a seafood market where birds, snakes and rabbit organs were reportedly sold.

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The fatal case was a 61-year-old man who died of respiratory and circulatory failure Jan. 9, the Wuhan commission said in a separate statement on Saturday. The patient, who purchased goods in the suspected market for years, was admitted to hospital for respiratory failure and severe pneumonia. He was also diagnosed with an abdominal tumor and cirrhosis of the liver, according to the statement.

There have been no new cases reported since Jan. 3 and no indication of the disease being transmitted among humans, authorities said. None of the 739 people that had close contact with the patients, including medical personnel, was infected. Authorities have closed the seafood market.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range in severity from the common cold to SARS, according to the World Health Organization. Some are easily transmitted from person to person, while others aren’t.

Chinese authorities have responded quickly to the outbreak, underscoring the government’s eagerness to contain infections and avoid a repeat of 2002, when the country was ravaged by the deadly SARS virus. The pandemic, which killed almost 800 people globally, disrupted world travel and trade, and China was criticized for initially trying to cover up the extent of the situation and not sharing information with other affected countries.

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