The Japanese authorities confirmed this Thursday, January 16, a case of an infection with a new coronary virus which appeared in China at the end of December. A few days ago, Thailand already announced a case on its territory.
After Thailand, Japan. The Japanese authorities confirmed on their territory this Thursday, January 16, the case of a case of infection with a new coronary virus which appeared in China at the end of December. A few days ago, Thailand had already announced a case on its territory. Coronary viruses can cause infections ranging from a cold to symptoms similar to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which killed hundreds of people in Asia between 2002 and 2003.
In late December, a mysterious illness with symptoms resembling pneumonia emerged in central China’s Wuhan. Since then, at least 59 cases have been identified in the country and a 61-year-old man has died. On January 13, Thailand said it had identified an unidentified case of this disease on its territory. The patient, a traveler from Wuhan, was immediately hospitalized and is recovering slowly.
Today, the Japanese Ministry of Health informs that a man in his thirties residing in Kanagawa prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo, has tested positive for this new virus. On his return from a trip to the city of Wuhan, he had to be hospitalized on January 10 for a high fever and other symptoms. He was finally able to leave the hospital five days later. According to information reported by the authorities, the man “did not go to the wholesale seafood market” in Wuhan, where most of the cases were detected.
The mode of transmission of the disease is still unknown.
If we still do not know the mode of transmission of this disease (the risk of transmission of the virus between humans is “not excluded” but it is considered “low”), its origin has finally been identified. Indeed, the patients are mostly business operators at a fish market in Wuhan. The municipality therefore ordered on 1er January the closure of the market where disinfection operations and analyzes took place.
“It appears most likely that the outbreak of the disease is associated with having been exposed to a seafood market in Wuhan. (…) At this stage, none of the healthcare workers have been affected and there is no tangible evidence of human-to-human transmission,” the WHO said at the start. week.
In the United States, the State Department published an alert note for the Wuhan region on Wednesday January 15. In particular, he called on travelers to the region to avoid any contact with animals or animal products.
Investigations continue in China
A few days ago, the Hong Kong Department of Health announced that genetic sequencing of the virus found in one of the patients showed that it was 80% similar to SARS found in bats. This virus has “coronavirus-like morphology”, characterized by a crown shape visible under an electron microscope. Unfortunately, in addition to its mode of transmission, we also do not know its origin and its incubation period.
“The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected and reinforces the reason why WHO is calling for active surveillance and continued preparedness in other countries,” the organization says. For the time being, investigations must continue in China to identify the source of the epidemic and any animal reservoir or intermediate host.
.