There were fears that the country was on the verge of a repeat epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which spread around the world in 2002-03, killing 700 people, after originating in China. But the Wuhan Health Commission has confirmed that SARS is not the cause of the new infections - which are thought to have been contracted in late December in a local seafood market. Middle East respiratory syndrome, influenza and avian flu have also been ruled out, but authorities are still scrambling to identify the source of the pneumonia outbreak.
onsdag 8. januar 2020
Chinese authorities scramble to identify cause of mysterious disease outbreak
Authorities are racing to identify the cause of a mystery lung infection that has struck nearly 60 people in central China. As of January 5 a total of 59 cases of unexplained pneumonia had been reported in Wuhan, a city with a population of roughly 11 million and the capital of Hubei province. Seven people are in a serious condition after developing the infection, which triggers fever and breathing difficulties, authorities have said.
There were fears that the country was on the verge of a repeat epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which spread around the world in 2002-03, killing 700 people, after originating in China. But the Wuhan Health Commission has confirmed that SARS is not the cause of the new infections - which are thought to have been contracted in late December in a local seafood market. Middle East respiratory syndrome, influenza and avian flu have also been ruled out, but authorities are still scrambling to identify the source of the pneumonia outbreak.
There were fears that the country was on the verge of a repeat epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which spread around the world in 2002-03, killing 700 people, after originating in China. But the Wuhan Health Commission has confirmed that SARS is not the cause of the new infections - which are thought to have been contracted in late December in a local seafood market. Middle East respiratory syndrome, influenza and avian flu have also been ruled out, but authorities are still scrambling to identify the source of the pneumonia outbreak.
