#Coronavirus #China #Outbreak #Virus
Chinese authorities have reported 139 new cases of a mysterious virus in two days, marking the first time that the infection has been confirmed in the country outside of Wuhan city.
The new cases were identified in the cities of Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen.
The total number of confirmed cases now exceeds 200, and three have died from the respiratory illness.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the number of cases rose because of "increased searching and testing".
The new coronavirus strain first appeared in Wuhan in December and has already spread abroad, with two cases in Thailand and one in Japan.
Experts in the UK told the BBC the number of people infected could still be far greater than official figures suggest.
What's the latest?
Authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said 136 new cases had been confirmed over the weekend, and a third person there died from the virus.
As of late Sunday, officials said 170 people in Wuhan were still being treated in hospital, including nine in critical condition.
Health officials in Beijing's Daxing district said two people who had travelled to Wuhan were treated for pneumonia linked to the virus.
In Shenzhen, officials said a 66-year-old man showed symptoms of the virus following a trip to visit relatives in Wuhan.
The WHO said "increased searching and testing for [the virus] among people sick with respiratory illness" had led to the jump in confirmed cases.
It said an "animal source seems the most likely source" of the virus, while there was "some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts."
It added that people could reduce the risk of catching the coronavirus by taking measures such as avoiding "unprotected" contact with live animals, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs, and avoiding close contact with anyone with colds or flu-like symptoms.
China's National Health Commission earlier said the virus was "still preventable and controllable", while warning that close monitoring was needed given that the source, transmission and mutation methods were unknown.
The health body has promised to step up monitoring during this week's Lunar New Year celebrations, when millions of people will travel to be with their families.
What is this virus?
Viral samples have been taken from patients and analysed in the laboratory and officials in China and the WHO have concluded the infection is a coronavirus.
Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses, but only six (the new one would make it seven) are known to infect people.
At the mild end they cause the common cold, but severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) is a coronavirus that killed 774 of the 8,098 people infected in an outbreak that started in China in 2002.
Analysis of the genetic code of the new virus shows it is more closely related to Sars than any other human coronavirus.
Experts in the UK told the BBC the number of people infected could still be far greater than official figures suggest, with estimates closer to 1,700.
What we know about the virus
- 2019-nCoV, as it's been labelled, is understood to be a new strain of coronavirus that has not previously been identified in humans
- Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses, but only six (the new one would make it seven) are known to infect people
- Scientists believe an animal source is "the most likely primary source" but that some human-to-human transmission has occurred
- Signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties
- People are being advised to avoid "unprotected" contact with live animals, thoroughly cook meat and eggs, and avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms
Source: World Health Organization
Who has been infected?
Authorities in Wuhan, a central Chinese city of 11 million that has been at the heart of the outbreak, on Monday said 136 new cases had been confirmed over the weekend, with a third person dying of the virus. There had previously been only 62 confirmed cases in the city.
As of late Sunday, officials said 170 people in Wuhan were still being treated in hospital, including nine in critical condition.
Beijing also confirmed its first cases, with five people infected. Shanghai confirmed its first case on Monday - a 56-year-old woman who came from Wuhan
In the city of Shenzhen, a major tech hub close to Hong Kong, officials said a 66-year-old man showed symptoms of the virus following a trip to visit relatives in Wuhan.
State media reported 14 other cases in Guangdong province.
Four cases have been confirmed abroad - two in Thailand, one in Japan and one in South Korea - all of them involving people who are either from Wuhan or have visited the city.
In South Korea, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a 35-year-old Chinese woman was suffering from a fever and respiratory problems after traveling there from Wuhan. She was put into isolation and treated at a local hospital
The World Health Organization said it was currently not recommending restrictions on travel or trade, but was providing guidance to countries preparing for any outbreak.
Airports in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Japanese capital Tokyo have been screening air passengers from Wuhan, and US authorities last week announced similar measures at three major airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.
What are the Chinese authorities saying?
How China is responding to the outbreak is under close scrutiny, given that it was widely criticized for initially covering up the Sars crisis in late 2002 and early 2003.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time publicly addressed the outbreak, saying that the virus must be "resolutely contained".
The foreign ministry, meanwhile, said China was providing "timely information about the disease" and would "work with all parties to deal with the virus".
China's National Health Commission on Monday confirmed that two cases in China were due to human-to-human transmission, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The commission had earlier said there had been no such cases, but that the virus had instead crossed the species barrier and come from infected animals at a seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan
The WHO also said it believed there had been "some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts".
"As more… cases are identified and more analysis was undertaken, we will get a clearer picture of disease severity and transmission patterns," it wrote on Twitter.
It noted that the rise in cases in China was a result of "increased searching and testing for [the virus] among people sick with respiratory illness"
What impact could Lunar New Year have?
From Friday, most Chinese will begin their week-long Lunar New Year holidays.
It's a time when hundreds of millions travel around China to visit family, raising fears that authorities will not be able to adequately monitor the further spread of the disease.
Wuhan is a transport hub and authorities there have for nearly a week been using temperature scanners at airports, and train and bus stations. Those showing signs of fever have been registered, given masks and taken to hospitals and clinics
Authorities say they will now also be screening everyone leaving the city.
At Beijing's central railway station, some travelers donned masks but did not appear overly concerned about the virus.
"Watching the news, I do feel a little worried. But I haven't taken precautionary measures beyond wearing regular masks," Li Yang, a 28-year-old account manager traveling to the region of Inner Mongolia, told the AFP news agency.
But the tone in Chinese social media, where the outbreak has been a top trending topic, was different.
"Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?" one Weibo user said.
- BBC News
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