59 people are already sick, announced the Chinese authorities. Since mid-December 2019, a respiratory disease has affected the city of Wuhan, located in central China, underlines an AFP dispatch taken up by France Info. This epidemic worries the country, already affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, resulting in 800 deaths.
The pathology worries, because it is still unknown to this day. Health authorities have ruled out certain avenues such as influenza, avian flu, SARS, Middle East breathing syndrome or even an adenovirus. But the pathogen has already seriously affected 7 people.
A virus in the fish market?
A common point connects several of the patients: the fish market in the city of Wuhan. It has been closed, patients are quarantined and an investigation is currently underway. The authorities point out that for the time being, the disease has not been transmitted from one human to another.
The symptoms observed could correspond to several types of respiratory diseases. Caution is required in the face of the epidemic, without alerting the WHO, which has not imposed travel restrictions in the area.
Read also:
Baby: everyday chemical pollutants responsible for respiratory risks
Lungs: Beware of Incense Smoke