Nuked A new virus appeared in Wuhan, China at the start of December. Public health experts are scrambling to understand, track, and contain the virus.
So far, there have been over 9,700 confirmed cases and 213 deaths. The majority of the illnesses are in China, but cases have been reported in nearly two dozen other countries, including the US.
The Verge will update this page with all the latest news and analysis. Our hope is to answer all your questions as people work to understand this virus and contain its spread.
An unknown, new virus was causing pneumonia-like illness in the city of Wuhan. Public health officials from China quickly determined that it was a coronavirus.
Since the start of the century, two other coronaviruses have jumped to humans, causing the SARS outbreak in 2002 and the MERS outbreak in 2012.
The first patient to get sick did not have any contact with the market. Experts are still trying to trace the outbreak back to its source.
The genetic sequence of the new virus is 96 percent identical to one coronavirus found in bats. Both SARS and MERS originated in bats.
The new virus is n’t SARS, although that also began in China. Because it comes from the same viral family as SARS, it has some similarities. Scientists and public health officials can use what they’ve learned from the past outbreak to try to stop this one.
China lied to the who about SARS. Are they lying about this, too?. Are China lying about SARS?.
China is allowing a team of experts to assist Chinese public health officials. During the SARS outbreak, officials attempted to conceal cases from who inspectors. This time, officials quickly reported the outbreak of the new virus to the who.
Us Department of health and Human Services also said China has been more transparent than they were with SARS. The US Department said the Chinese government’s level of cooperation is completely different from what we experienced in 2003.
Concerns that Chinese officials are undercounting the number of illnesses. Police also investigated citizens for spreading what it calls rumors online.
China is n’t the only country known for concealing the extent of public health problems. In the US, dozens of cities have concealed the amount of lead in their public water supply.
It takes information about both how severe an illness is and how easily it can spread. Epidemiologists often use this tool to assess new flus.
If something affects millions, the small percentage it kills will still be a high number of fatalities. If something does n’t affect millions, it kills only a small percentage of people.
Around 20 percent of confirmed cases have been severe, according to the who. That’s twenty percent of the cases that we know about. It’s still possible that there are many more mild cases of the illness that have n’t been flagged.
The fatality rate for SARS was about 14 to 15 percent. Most deaths have been in older people who have underlying health issues.
In China, sick people have been infecting others through person-to-person transmission since the start of January. People in four countries outside of China were infected with the coronavirus by other people.
Early evidence suggests that the virus jumps between people who are in very close contact with each other. It probably spreads when an infected person sneezes or coughs.
A letter to the New England Journal of medicine also details a case where people who did n’t feel sick appeared to infect others in Germany.
There’s still limited evidence that asymptomatic people can spread the virus, though. Even if it was happening, it probably would n’t significantly affect the outbreak, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and infectious diseases.
Who says each sick person will go on to infect, on average, between 1.4 and 2.5 additional people. Other teams of researchers have published their own estimates.
The r0 is the mathematical representation of how well an infection might be able to spread. For comparison, the r0 for SARS was between two and five. The higher the number, the more potentially spreadable it can be.
If you have n’t recently been in close contact with someone who is sick, it’s very unlikely you have this virus. There are ways to reduce that anxiety, like by distracting yourself with other activities, or keeping the risks in perspective.
It’s far more likely that you have the flu or the common cold. High levels of flu activity are n’t expected to die down anytime soon.
If you’re feeling sick and have been in close contact with someone who has, tell your doctor about your symptoms. If you’ve been to Wuhan, China, or been in contact with a person who has.
Based on what we know so far, you can protect yourself with the same measures you’d take to protect yourself against the flu. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and stay away from people who are sick.
Level 4 is the most severe warning issued. It applies only to areas with a’greater likelihood of life-threatening risks’.
Officials in Wuhan shut down all transportation in the city, which is home to over 11 million people. They closed buses and subways, and canceled all flights and trains in and out of the city. Fifteen other cities, home to a total of 46 million people, are locked down as well.
‘trying to contain a city of 11 million people is new to science,’ says World Health Organization representative gauden galea.’we can not at this stage say it will or it will not work,’ he adds.
Major cities across the country cancel celebrations for the lunar New year, a huge holiday in China. Major cities in the country are rolling out festivities for the new year.
For many migrant workers this is their only holiday off all year. It is the only time they see their families back in distant villages.
The CDC says the risk to people in the US is currently low. Until we know how easily the virus spreads, it’s hard to say how significant of an effect it could have in the United States.
There have been six confirmed cases in the US. One of the patients in Chicago had not traveled to China. Five had recently traveled from Wuhan.
There have been 165 people under investigation for the new coronavirus in the United States. As of January 29th, 68 of those cases had tested negative. Testing is still underway for the remaining cases.
The CDC is conducting enhanced health screenings for travelers from China at 20 airports across the country. Travelers are also given information about the virus and told to call a doctor if they start feeling sick.
How is the virus affecting businesses that operate in China?. How is it affecting businesses in the country?. The virus affects businesses in China.
A number of airlines, including United Airlines, British Airways, and Air Canada, are canceling some or all flights to and from China. United Airlines said their decision to do so was due to a drop in demand for those flights.
South Korea’s LG banned travel to China completely. Facebook and Razer told employees who had recently returned from China to work from home.
