China’s Mystery Pneumonia Cases Linked to Novel Coronavirus
China’s Mystery Pneumonia Illness May Be Linked to New Virus
(Bloomberg) -- A mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has sickened dozens in central China is linked to a previously unidentified coronavirus, China Central Television said.
Further research is needed on the virus, which is different to the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, CCTV said, citing scientists’ early findings. The World Health Organization said earlier Thursday a novel virus may be the cause of the outbreak in Wuhan.
Scientist have speculated for days 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.
The WHO said that more comprehensive information is needed to positively identify the pathogen. The virus doesn’t transmit readily between people, the WHO said, citing Chinese authorities.
Dozens of people have been hospitalized in Wuhan since the first patient developed symptoms Dec. 12. Some patients worked at a seafood market where birds, snakes and rabbit organs were reportedly sold.
There have been no reports of fatalities or health-care workers becoming infected, and CCTV said eight patients have been discharged from the hospital. The illness also doesn’t appear to be spreading outside Wuhan. While regions including Hong Kong and Singapore have reported illnesses from travelers who had been to Wuhan, none so far has shown a link to the pneumonia cluster.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range in severity from the common cold to SARS, the WHO said. Some transmit easily from person to person, while others don’t.
“Disease X” -- a term used to denote a previously unknown disease -- is “one of the key health security risks in today’s world, and a priority for global monitoring,” said James M. Wilson, a pediatrician who has helped monitor health security threats for 25 years.
Such diseases are often reported very late, after severe cases emerge, Wilson said. But since SARS, there has been a dramatic increase in access to sophisticated diagnostic testing, allowing for the early identification of viruses.
In the Wuhan case, the Chinese may be dealing with a virus that is not as lethal as SARS, which killed almost 800 people about 17 years ago, or is in early stages of discovery before deaths have occurred, he said.
The rapid reaction by Chinese authorities to the mystery outbreak underscores the government’s eagerness to contain the infections and avoid a repeat of 2002, when the country was ravaged by the deadly, incurable SARS. The pandemic disrupted global 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.
“Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement and demonstrates China’s increased capacity to manage new outbreaks,” public health physician Gauden Galea, WHO’s representative to China, said in a statement Thursday. “China has strong public health capacities and resources to respond and manage respiratory disease outbreaks.”
--With assistance from Jason Gale and Dong Lyu.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kristen V. Brown in San Francisco at kbrown340@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, ;Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, Mark Schoifet, Jeff Sutherland
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