A new SARS-like virus spreading in China and into other countries in Asia has been transmitted from person to person, Chinese health authorities said Monday, as the number of confirmed cases rose above 200.
Health workers in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, as well as family members who have not travelled to the city have been infected by the new type of coronavirus, said Zhong Nanshan, who leads a team of experts organized by China’s National Health Commission, according to comments reported by state media. Such an evolution of the virus had been feared by epidemiologists and comes amid evidence that it has begun to spread more rapidly just days ahead of the Lunar New Year celebration – China’s busiest travel season.
A total of 224 cases have been reported in China, state media said Monday evening, with 217 of those confirmed in Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen, the economically vital southern city that borders Hong Kong. Another seven are suspected in a growing circle of provinces that now includes Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanghai, Guangxi and Shandong.
The expanding reach of the Wuhan virus, which belongs to the same family as the SARS coronavirus that in 2003 infected 8,098 people and killed 774, has coincided with the movement of hundreds of millions of people in what is often called the largest human migration on Earth.
Sir Tainley
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