Coronavirus: Specialist says there is a need for caution
‘Too Early To say Whether 2019-nCoV Will Become Endemic In India’
Malathy.Iyer@timesgroup.com
Mumbai:26.01.2020
The2019 novelcoronavirus—the newest virus spreading from China to the rest of the world—appears to have begun its infectious journey from the Hunan seafood market in Wuhan and there are indications that it is similar to the SARS virus that caused a pandemic in 2002-2003. This means it can spread from person to person and from one city to another, showsthefirst reviewof the2019 novel coronavirus—abbreviated as 2019-nCoV—infection among 41patientsfrom Wuhan.
Both the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus and 2019-nCoV belong to the large family of coronaviruses that was mostly associated with benign common cold until SARS changed the perception by infecting over 8,000 and killing 774in a few months.Another coronavirus, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and was responsible for 850 deathsworldwide.
The review, published in ‘The Lancet’ on Friday, showed that all 41 patients with the 2019-nCoV infection had “pneumonia with abnormal findings”. A third of these earliest patients infected in December 2019 needed to be admitted in intensive care andsix of them died.
Infectiousdiseasesspecialist Dr Om Srivastava said, “It is too early to say whether the novel coronavirus2019willbecomeendemicin India.”There are no reportedcasesin India atthistime, buthesaidthereis a needfor caution. “One should be aware and alert, but not alarmed. Use hand sanitization/sterilization as it is the best way to break the cycle of transmission,”he added.
The WHO released pamphlets to show that the best way to reduce the risk of a coronavirus infection is to clean hands with soap and water or alcoholbasedhand rub.
Full reporton www.toi.in
‘Too Early To say Whether 2019-nCoV Will Become Endemic In India’
Malathy.Iyer@timesgroup.com
Mumbai:26.01.2020
The2019 novelcoronavirus—the newest virus spreading from China to the rest of the world—appears to have begun its infectious journey from the Hunan seafood market in Wuhan and there are indications that it is similar to the SARS virus that caused a pandemic in 2002-2003. This means it can spread from person to person and from one city to another, showsthefirst reviewof the2019 novel coronavirus—abbreviated as 2019-nCoV—infection among 41patientsfrom Wuhan.
Both the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus and 2019-nCoV belong to the large family of coronaviruses that was mostly associated with benign common cold until SARS changed the perception by infecting over 8,000 and killing 774in a few months.Another coronavirus, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and was responsible for 850 deathsworldwide.
The review, published in ‘The Lancet’ on Friday, showed that all 41 patients with the 2019-nCoV infection had “pneumonia with abnormal findings”. A third of these earliest patients infected in December 2019 needed to be admitted in intensive care andsix of them died.
Infectiousdiseasesspecialist Dr Om Srivastava said, “It is too early to say whether the novel coronavirus2019willbecomeendemicin India.”There are no reportedcasesin India atthistime, buthesaidthereis a needfor caution. “One should be aware and alert, but not alarmed. Use hand sanitization/sterilization as it is the best way to break the cycle of transmission,”he added.
The WHO released pamphlets to show that the best way to reduce the risk of a coronavirus infection is to clean hands with soap and water or alcoholbasedhand rub.
Full reporton www.toi.in
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