The new coronavirus, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has now reached other countries including the US.
New Delhi| The new coronavirus, which has affected over 440 people in China and abroad with a death toll of 9, appears to have originated in Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, a Chinese city.
The market which is said to be the epicentre of the breakout sells fish and various other animal meats. Markets have been insinuated in the origin and spread of viral diseases in past epidemics and a huge majority of confirmed cases known so far had been to the market in recent weeks.
Out of most confirmed, the bulk is from China and other countries where the virus has reached include Thailand, Japan, South Korea, US and Australia. China’s National Health Commission has confirmed that the virus has caused 9 deaths as of January 22.
The virus is said to be a cousin of SARS- a coronavirus that spread across 37 countries and resulted in the death of over 700 people. The new Wuhan virus and SARS are highly related through genes, both belonging to the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause illness in people, while others circulate among animals, including camels, cats, and bats.
The question of how the virus is spread is still unanswered since it is still being investigated. At first, the scientist claimed that the Wuhan coronavirus involved crossover events from animals, now the disease appears to be spreading from human to human.
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The symptoms are Pneumonia-like and are similar to any other upper-respiratory infection. In most cases, one cannot know if they have coronavirus or a common cold.
As of now, there are no vaccines available to protect again this family of viruses.
The director-general of the WHO, will convene an emergency committee on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to ascertain whether this new virus constitutes a public health emergency.
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