A second case of a SARS-like virus - which appears to have a 50 per cent chance of death - has been identified in the UK.
The individual, believed to be a middle-aged man of Pakistani origin from northern England, is being treated in intensive care at a Manchester hospital. He is thought to have contracted the virus, currently called the ‘novel coronavirus’, on a visit to Saudi Arabia in January. The man, described as a UK resident, presented to hospital on January 31 with severe respiratory illness. He had just returned from visiting family in Pakistan. On his way back he stopped for a short stay in Saudi Arabia. Globally, there have now been 10 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus since it emerged last year. Five people have died. Experts do not believe the virus, which could have originated in bats, is able to pass from person to person, although there is a chance it might mutate.
All cases have been linked to the Arabian peninsula, in that the patients either lived there or had recently visited there. Last September a Qatari man was flown to the UK for treatment, after contracting the mystery virus. He was treated at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, where he was kept alive thanks to an ‘artificial lung’. He has recovered enough to be taken off it, but remains in intensive care. The case followed the identification of the virus that month, after the death of a 60-year-old man in Saudi Arabia in June. Coronaviruses are extremely common: they cause colds. However, occasionally a new one develops which is far more serious. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which caused nearly 800 deaths in 2002 and 2003, was a coronavirus. The death rate of those confirmed with SARS infection was about 10 per cent. This novel virus produces similar symptoms to SARS - serious respiratory illness, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, fever, and cough. Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, emphasised the risk to the public was "extremely low".
He said: "The HPA is providing advice to healthcare workers to ensure the patient under investigation is being treated appropriately and that healthcare staff who are looking after the patient are protected.” Those who know the man are also being seen “to check on their health”. He added: “Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travellers to the Arabian peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low. “No travel restrictions are in place but people who develop severe respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, within 10 days of returning from these countries should seek medical advice and mention which countries they have visited.” Professor Maria Zambon, director of reference microbiology services at the HPA, said: “A battery of laboratory tests have been developed by the HPA to test for coronavirus infection when cases of severe respiratory illness are identified, which are not explained by other infectious causes. “These tests, which detect the presence of virus in the body, are available for use by selected frontline HPA laboratories.” Experts believe this version of coronavirus could originate in bats, which harbour a wide variety of strains. However, even if it was from bats, it could have moved to another animal, which is the source of infection. So far, evidence seems to suggest it cannot be passed from person to person. Eight out of the 10 cases were in people who did not know each other, while healthcare workers who have been in contact with the patients have not become infected with the novel virus.
source, telegraph.co
The novel coronavirus is from the family as that which causes SARS and the common cold. Photo: ALAMY
The individual, believed to be a middle-aged man of Pakistani origin from northern England, is being treated in intensive care at a Manchester hospital. He is thought to have contracted the virus, currently called the ‘novel coronavirus’, on a visit to Saudi Arabia in January. The man, described as a UK resident, presented to hospital on January 31 with severe respiratory illness. He had just returned from visiting family in Pakistan. On his way back he stopped for a short stay in Saudi Arabia. Globally, there have now been 10 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus since it emerged last year. Five people have died. Experts do not believe the virus, which could have originated in bats, is able to pass from person to person, although there is a chance it might mutate.
All cases have been linked to the Arabian peninsula, in that the patients either lived there or had recently visited there. Last September a Qatari man was flown to the UK for treatment, after contracting the mystery virus. He was treated at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, where he was kept alive thanks to an ‘artificial lung’. He has recovered enough to be taken off it, but remains in intensive care. The case followed the identification of the virus that month, after the death of a 60-year-old man in Saudi Arabia in June. Coronaviruses are extremely common: they cause colds. However, occasionally a new one develops which is far more serious. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which caused nearly 800 deaths in 2002 and 2003, was a coronavirus. The death rate of those confirmed with SARS infection was about 10 per cent. This novel virus produces similar symptoms to SARS - serious respiratory illness, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, fever, and cough. Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, emphasised the risk to the public was "extremely low".
He said: "The HPA is providing advice to healthcare workers to ensure the patient under investigation is being treated appropriately and that healthcare staff who are looking after the patient are protected.” Those who know the man are also being seen “to check on their health”. He added: “Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travellers to the Arabian peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low. “No travel restrictions are in place but people who develop severe respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, within 10 days of returning from these countries should seek medical advice and mention which countries they have visited.” Professor Maria Zambon, director of reference microbiology services at the HPA, said: “A battery of laboratory tests have been developed by the HPA to test for coronavirus infection when cases of severe respiratory illness are identified, which are not explained by other infectious causes. “These tests, which detect the presence of virus in the body, are available for use by selected frontline HPA laboratories.” Experts believe this version of coronavirus could originate in bats, which harbour a wide variety of strains. However, even if it was from bats, it could have moved to another animal, which is the source of infection. So far, evidence seems to suggest it cannot be passed from person to person. Eight out of the 10 cases were in people who did not know each other, while healthcare workers who have been in contact with the patients have not become infected with the novel virus.
source, telegraph.co
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