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China Reports 17 New Cases of Mysterious Virus China Reports New Cases of Deadly Virus, Adding to Outbreak Concerns
(about 4 hours later)
BEIJING — The Chinese authorities on Sunday said that 17 more people had been infected with a mysterious new virus, adding to concerns about the spread of the illness ahead of China’s busiest travel season. BEIJING — The Chinese authorities on Sunday said that 17 more people had been infected with a mysterious new virus, raising questions about how it is being transmitted and adding to concerns about the spread of the illness ahead of China’s busiest travel season.
The health commission in Wuhan, a central city, said in a statement that the infected people began showing symptoms of the pneumonialike coronavirus as recently as last week. Three are now in critical condition, the commission said. The announcement by the health commission in Wuhan, a central Chinese city where the virus originated last month, comes amid growing concern among some experts that the outbreak of the pneumonialike coronavirus in China could be more severe than the government has described.
The new cases suggest that the illness, which has killed two people and sickened at least 62 in China, is continuing to spread. Public health officials are working to stop a major outbreak of the virus ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of people in China are expected to travel. The holiday begins Friday. Public health officials are working to stop a major outbreak of the virus, which has killed two people and sickened at least 62 in China, according to official statistics, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Hundreds of millions of people in China are expected to travel for the holiday, which begins Friday.
Already, the virus appears to have spread outside China’s borders. Officials in Thailand and Japan have confirmed three cases involving people who have traveled through Wuhan.Already, the virus appears to have spread outside China’s borders. Officials in Thailand and Japan have confirmed three cases involving people who have traveled through Wuhan.
The authorities said that most people with the infection had contracted it through exposure to animals at a market in Wuhan that sells seafood and live animals, and it was uncertain whether the virus could spread from human to human. The health commission in Wuhan said in a statement Sunday that the 17 infected people began showing symptoms of the pneumonialike coronavirus as recently as last week. Three are now in critical condition, the commission said.
But the health commission in Wuhan also acknowledged on Sunday that some people who had come down with the virus had no exposure to the market. Most people with the infection have contracted it through exposure to animals at a market in Wuhan that sells seafood and live animals, according to the authorities.
That acknowledgment suggest that the virus could be present in other markets in Wuhan, experts said, raising concerns that more people might be at risk. Health experts are now studying whether the virus can spread from human to human on a broad scale.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday that while its analysis indicated that limited transmission of the virus is possible, there is no evidence yet that it can easily spread from one person to another. The group said it would continue to examine the issue.
“We do not have enough evidence to evaluate the full extent of human-to-human transmission,” the World Health Organization’s Manila office said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The health commission in Wuhan acknowledged on Sunday that some people who had come down with the virus had no exposure to the market.
That acknowledgment raises the possibility that the virus could be present in other markets in Wuhan, experts said, adding to fears that more people might be at risk.
“If you cannot find the source and control the source of the virus, you cannot extinguish the fire,” said David Hui, the director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.“If you cannot find the source and control the source of the virus, you cannot extinguish the fire,” said David Hui, the director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Hui said the risk of human-to-human transmission still appeared to be low, though he noted that the virus could mutate. Dr. Hui said the risk of widespread human-to-human transmission still appeared to be low, though he noted that the virus could mutate.
Some experts have suggested that there are most likely far more cases of the illness than the authorities have disclosed. In previous incidents, including during the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the Chinese government has withheld critical information, drawing widespread criticism.Some experts have suggested that there are most likely far more cases of the illness than the authorities have disclosed. In previous incidents, including during the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the Chinese government has withheld critical information, drawing widespread criticism.
One estimate on Friday by the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London suggested that there could be as many as 1,700 cases. One estimate on Friday by the MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London suggested that there could be as many as 1,700 cases.
The W.H.O. said on Sunday that it was possible that China would confirm more cases in the coming days and weeks, as the authorities screened more people.
The new virus has brought back memories in China of the SARS outbreak, which was also caused by a coronavirus. That virus, which is believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets, originated in China and was spread to other countries by travelers, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 800.The new virus has brought back memories in China of the SARS outbreak, which was also caused by a coronavirus. That virus, which is believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets, originated in China and was spread to other countries by travelers, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 800.
While the new coronavirus so far seems to be less severe than SARS, public health officials around the world are exercising caution.While the new coronavirus so far seems to be less severe than SARS, public health officials around the world are exercising caution.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced that airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles would begin screening passengers from Wuhan for the virus.On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced that airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles would begin screening passengers from Wuhan for the virus.
W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University professor who assisted in the effort to tackle the SARS outbreak, said it was still too early to know how deadly the virus might prove to be.
“Until it becomes capable of human-to-human transmission, there’s not a major threat of a pandemic,” said Dr. Lipkin, the director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “We need to prepare for the possibility that this could be a larger outbreak and it could become a pandemic. But that doesn’t mean that it will.”
Elsie Chen contributed research.Elsie Chen contributed research.