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What we know and don't know
Published on: 2020-02-11
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HOW DANGEROUS IS THE VIRUS?

The coronavirus family of viruses includes the common cold and more serious diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
 

Many of those with the new virus who have died had pre-existing medical conditions or were elderly, those with weakened immune systems.
 

Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, cough and breathing difficulties.

041Some 15% of cases are severe and 3% critical, according to Chinese data shared with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
 

Statistics from China indicate that about 2% of people infected with the new virus have died, suggesting it may be deadlier than seasonal flu but less deadly than SARS, which killed about 10% of infected individuals. The MERS outbreak in 2012 had a fatality rate of about 35%.
 

People over 80 years old have the highest death rates from the new coronavirus, the WHO says.Scientists have labeled the new virus 2019-nCoV.
 

HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED AND HOW CAN IT BE PREVENTED?

The virus can be transmitted via droplets when an infected person breathes out, coughs or sneezes, and can also spread via contaminated surfaces such as door handles.
 

Experts have said it is more easily transmitted than the SARS virus. The incubation period is believed to be up to 14 days. People may be able to infect others before symptoms appear.
 

The WHO recommends that people frequently wash hands, cover their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, and avoid close contact with those who are sick.
 

DO FACE MASKS HELP?

“We recommend the use of masks for people who have symptoms ... because the virus transmits through droplets,” says medical expert Sylvie Briand. But they do not guarantee protection against infection.

043“For people who don’t have symptoms, the mask in fact is not useful,” Briand says. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says face masks are not required for the general public.
 

IS THERE ANY TREATMENT?

044There is no vaccine or known effective treatments, according to the WHO. Chinese scientists were able to identify the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus and shared it publicly. Scientists in Australia have developed a lab-grown version of the virus, a step toward creating a vaccine.
 

Drugmakers around the globe expect to begin testing experimental vaccines on humans in about three months. Work on increasing diagnostic capabilities globally has also ramped up.
 

WHERE HAS IT SPREAD?

042About 99% of the more than 43,000 cases have been reported in mainland China. There have been over 300 cases in 25 other countries, according to the WHO.
 

Over 1,000 people have died in China, most in and around the city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged late last year. One person has died in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines, both following visits to Wuhan.

Japan, Singapore and Thailand have the most cases outside of China
 

It took the new coronavirus 48 days to infect the first 1,000 people. It took SARS 130 days to infect 1,000 people. It took MERS 2.5 years to infect 1,000 people.
 

WHAT ARE AUTHORITIES DOING?

045China has virtually locked down the central province of Hubei, home to 60 million people, and its capital Wuhan.
 

China is facing mounting isolation as airlines suspend flights to its cities. The United States and Australia have banned entry to foreign nationals who have recently travelled to China.
 

Many countries have evacuated their citizens from Hubei and are putting them in quarantine or isolation upon return. The WHO has not recommended travel or trade curbs with China.
 

WHERE DID THE VIRUS COME FROM?

046It is believed to have originated in a food market in Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife. Health experts think it may have originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via another species.
 

That intermediate species may have been pangolins - the world’s only scaly mammals, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported, based on DNA similarities. Other scientists have yet to confirm that finding.

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