- The Wuhan coronavirus has surpassed SARS in the number of confirmed cases.
- The disease is rapidly spreading around the world with cases confirmed in 48 countries.
- American lawmakers are confident that they have the disease under control. Do they?
It’s official.
With 9, (confirmed cases) [nhc.gov.cn] – nearly , (as of January) ,
[Johns Hopkins Data] – the deadly Wuhan coronavirus has now surpassed SARS. The virus, provisionally known as – – nCov, has been declared a Global Health emergency by the World Health Organization as nations across the globe scramble to protect their populations from the outbreak.
With cases r ecently reported in India
, the Philippines, and Italy, the total of infected countries now stands at with more expected to follow. The United States has also reported its first human-to-human transmission of the virus while the state department issues
a grave warning against traveling to China
[travel.state.gov]. A reminder of the deadly SARS outbreak
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, known as SARS, is a zoonotic disease caused by the SARS coronavirus. The first outbreak started in China and lasted between November 2004 and July (resulting in 8, confirmed cases and (fatalities in (countries.)
With almost 9, cases in countries, the Wuhan coronavirus has surpassed SARS in its scope. It, however, is much less fatal than the prior disease. SARS had a
fatality rate of 9.6 percent [World Health Organization] compared to around 2.2 percent for Wuhan coronavirus.
But unfortunately, Wuhan coronavirus’ smaller fatality rate makes it a more contagious illness.
Wuhan coronavirus has a sizable (two-week incubation period
where victims may still be able to transmit the disease despite not showing any symptoms themselves. There are also fears that the virus may mutate into more deadly and contagious forms.
The international response has been swift and decisive.
While the Chinese government is a recurring criticism
for its handling of the Wuhan coronavirus crisis, other countries are acting quickly to limit its spread abroad.
In Italy, thousands were held aboard a cruise ship because one passenger was suspected of being infected with the disease. The passengers were later released
[Moscow Times] to prevent the virus’ spread. Meanwhile, American lawmakers remain hopeful that the country will be able to get the Wuhan coronavirus under control.
President Donald Trump spoke on the issue [CNBC] while visiting a manufacturing plant in Michigan on Thursday, stating:
Notably, he added:
The president also went on to Tweet that only five people had been infected in the US hours after the 6th case of the disease was reported.
The sixth case was, crucially, the first human-to-human transmission [CBS] recorded in the country.
(This article was edited by
(Samburaj Das) . (Read More)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings