China confirms human-to-human transmission of new coronavirus:
Human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus strain has been confirmed in China, fueling fears of a major outbreak of the SARS-like virus as millions travel for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission, said on Monday patients may have contracted the new virus without having visited the central city of Wuhan where it was discovered before spreading across China and reaching three other Asian nations.
"Currently, it can be said it is affirmative that there is the phenomenon of human-to-human transmission," he said in an interview with China's CCTV state broadcaster.
Zhong said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the disease from family members who had visited Wuhan.
He added that 14 medical personnel helping with coronavirus patients have also been infected.
Human-to-human transmission could make the virus spread more quickly and widely.
CDC Confirms First US Case of New Coronavirus
Public health officials have confirmed the first U.S. case of a mysterious coronavirus that has already killed at least six people and sickened hundreds of others in China, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
A male traveler from China has been diagnosed in Snohomish County, Washington State with the Wuhan coronavirus, according to the CDC.
Officials said the sick male, in his 30s, is “very healthy.” He is currently being isolated at a medical center in the state “out of caution” and “poses little risk” to the public, they said. The CDC said the male reached out to local health authorities on Jan. 15 once he started experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms.
Previously:
China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus
Related Stories
China reports 3rd death, nearly 140 new cases of coronavirus:
China reported on Monday its third death from a mysterious new virus and nearly 140 fresh cases as the disease spread to other parts of the country, including Beijing, raising concerns about more infections as millions begin trips for the Lunar New Year.
Medical experts are still struggling to understand the new strain of coronavirus but its connection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has caused alarm. SARS originated in southern China in 2002 before spreading to Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world infecting thousands and leaving more than 800 people dead.
Coronaviruses usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, such as the common cold, but can also affect the lower-respiratory tract, causing pneumonia or bronchitis.
[...] In Wuhan, the city in central China where the new strain first emerged, 136 new cases were found over the weekend the local health commission said, without giving details about the person who died.
[...] A total of 201 people have now been diagnosed with the virus in China. In Wuhan, 170 people are still being treated in hospital, including nine in critical condition, the city health commission said.
Wuhan is a city of 11 million inhabitants that serves as a major transport hub, including during the annual Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel across the country to visit family.
Chinese Authorities Begin Quarantine Of Wuhan City As Coronavirus Cases Multiply:
Wuhan's public health authorities say they are in a "state of war" as they quarantine the Chinese city in an attempt to halt the spread of a never-before-seen strain of coronavirus. "Strictly implement emergency response requirements, enter into a state of war and implement wartime measures to resolutely curb the spread of this epidemic," urged a committee of Wuhan's top officials. "Homes must be segregated, neighbors must be watched."
Later Thursday, health officials from the World Health Organization decided not to declare the outbreak an international health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that after two days of meetings in Geneva with the organization's Emergency Committee, the group was divided. "Make no mistake. This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency," Tedros said. "It may yet become one." The WHO is not recommending any international restrictions on trade or travel, but does recommend exit screenings at airports.
Beginning at 10 a.m. local time (9 p.m. Wednesday ET), authorities in Wuhan, about 500 miles west of Shanghai, started sealing off public transportation, including its metro system, airport, train station and long-haul bus hubs. Livestreamed videos from the city show soldiers wearing face masks barricading the entrances to the city's train station Thursday morning to prevent passengers from entering and leaving the city.
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates:
The virus thought to have originated in a Wuhan food market continues to spread as China steps up containment efforts.
[...] China is extending the Lunar New Year holiday for three days and enforcing strict containment measures in an attempt to curb the spread of a new coronavirus that has killed 80 people and infected at more than 2,700, most of them in the central province of Hubei where the virus first emerged.
The holiday season was due to end on Friday but will now be extended until February 2.
More than 56 million people in almost 20 cities, including the Hubei capital of Wuhan, have been affected by travel restrictions, introduced amid fears the transmission rate will balloon as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel during the Lunar New Year celebrations.
[...] Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a pandemic as more countries report cases. Confirmed cases have so far been announced in several Asiancountries, Europe and North America.
[...] The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China but the organisation said on Thursday it was too early to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Previously:
- Coronavirus: Millions Quarantined in Wuhan City
- China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus
- China Confirms Human-To-Human Transmission of New Coronavirus; CDC Confirms First US Case
Plague Inc. maker: Don't use our game for coronavirus modeling:
Interest in the continued spread of the coronavirus has had an unintended side effect for UK-based Ndemic Creations, makers of Plague Inc. The eight-year-old game—which asks players to shepherd a worldwide pandemic so it can destroy all of humanity—has seen a spike in popularity in recent weeks, becoming the most-downloaded iPhone app in China on January 21 and in the United States on January 23, according to tracking firm App Annie.
The surge in interest has led Ndemic to issue a statement urging players not to rely on the app for information on staying safe from the coronavirus' current spread. "Please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the currentcoronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people," the statement reads, in part. "We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities."
[...] Ndemic points players to the WHO for up-to-date information about the coronavirus. The disease now has more than 2,800 reported cases worldwide and has led to at least 80 deaths.
Interesting educational tool: CDC: Solve The Outbreak
Previously:
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates
Coronavirus: Millions Quarantined in Wuhan City
China Confirms Human-To-Human Transmission of New Coronavirus; CDC Confirms First US Case
China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus
Coronavirus declared global health emergency by WHO
The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.
"The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.
1st Person-To-Person Spread Of Coronavirus Has Occurred In U.S., CDC Says
Coronavirus: US reports first person-to-person transmission
Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly coronavirus.
The new patient is the spouse of a Chicago woman who carried the infection back from Wuhan, China, the US Centers for Disease Control said on Thursday.
The discovery marks the second report of the virus in Illinois and the sixth confirmed case in the US.
This paper provides early estimates of 2019-nCoV epidemiological parameters: Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV: early estimation of epidemiological parameters and epidemic predictions (open, DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.23.20018549) (DX)
Used model does not offer much grounds for optimism.
Previously:
China Reports 3rd Death, Nearly 140 New Cases of Coronavirus
China Confirms Human-To-Human Transmission of New Coronavirus; CDC Confirms First US Case
Coronavirus: Millions Quarantined in Wuhan City
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates
In The Pipeline: Coronavirus
Plague Inc. Maker: Don't use our Game for Coronavirus Modeling
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3
Multiple Soylentils have submitted stories regarding the 2019-nCoV coronavirus which is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Rather than have a smattering of stories appear on the site, they have been gathered here in one story. Read on if you are interested; otherwise another story will be along presently.
This story is a roundup of several virus stories that were submitted over the past few days. This is a changing story, so some of what is posted below may have changed since the time of their originally being published.
What's in a name? One significant change is what the names are for everything. There is the question of what to call the actual virus and then what to call it when someone is infected.
Virus: The virus by itself is now officially referred to as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). It was formerly known as 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus).
Disease: Those who have been infected by this virus are said to have a disease. The name of the disease is coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which is also known as 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease.
More details are available on Wikipedia.
The six submitted stories are presented below.
NIH Official Says Coronavirus 'on the Verge' of Becoming Global Pandemic Unless Containment Improves
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS's "Face The Nation" that multiple person-to-person transmissions need to occur in multiple countries in order to reach the pandemic threshold.
[...] "Technically speaking, the [World Health Organization] wouldn't be calling this a global pandemic. But it certainly is on the verge of that happening reasonably soon unless containment is more successful than it is right now," he said.
Even though it has only been a short while since our last round-up there are 22 separate stories merged into this round-up. Many report duplicate news but, nevertheless, we have tried to distill the important elements of each submission.
Firstly, there is some confusion regarding the actual names that are reported for the virus, the disease that it causes, and names frequently seen in media reporting. From https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0695-z:
The present outbreak of a coronavirus-associated acute respiratory disease called coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is the third documented spillover of an animal coronavirus to humans in only two decades that has resulted in a major epidemic. The Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, which is responsible for developing the classification of viruses and taxon nomenclature of the family Coronaviridae, has assessed the placement of the human pathogen, tentatively named 2019-nCoV, within the Coronaviridae. Based on phylogeny, taxonomy and established practice, the CSG recognizes this virus as forming a sister clade to the prototype human and bat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs) of the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, and designates it as SARS-CoV-2.
In order to facilitate communication, the CSG proposes to use the following naming convention for individual isolates: SARS-CoV-2/host/location/isolate/date. While the full spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans remains to be determined, the independent zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for studying viruses at the species level to complement research focused on individual pathogenic viruses of immediate significance. This will improve our understanding of virus–host interactions in an ever-changing environment and enhance our preparedness for future outbreaks.
There is much more information at the link provided.
Secondly, as this is a fusion of stories received over the last week or so take all quoted figures of casualties as possibly out-of-date. At the time of merging these stories (12 Mar 20) there have been 127,863 confirmed cases world-wide resulting in 4,717 deaths. 68,309 people have already recovered with the remainder either in self-imposed or advisory isolation, in basic hospital care and a relatively small number in critical care. The pandemic has affected 116 countries/regions. Source: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 - a graphical display produced by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Many countries have taken emergency measures to restrict travel or large gatherings of people. As this is a very fluid situation we suggest you refer to the media of any specific country in which you have an interest. President Trump has banned transatlantic air travel from countries in mainland Europe to the USA from Friday 2020-03-13 at 23:59 (no timezone stated) for a period initially of 30 days, and air travel within Europe is also significantly disrupted.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @10:55PM (6 children)
Orwell's 1984 was so prescient.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:17PM (3 children)
This is a travesty! Didn't you see the stock [marketwatch.com] market [marketwatch.com] crashing [marketwatch.com]! The computer's doing the auto-layoff thing! Nobody has jobs any more! The ecomoney is ruined! This is biological warfare!
President Camacho will know what to do.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:26PM
Novavax is up 73% [fool.com]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:33PM (1 child)
Almost all news seems to have transitioned from just being fake to now being fake and market manipulation. It is clear who they have turned to as they near bankruptcy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @05:51PM
Transitioned? What makes you think it was ever anything different?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:20AM
What does this have to do with being at war with Eastasia? I'm confused!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:28AM
Forgive the CNBC editors for grabbing a thesaurus when they saw "infected patient appears asymptomatic" - it's not like their audience is conversant with basic science. But do excoriate them for bobbling it so badly.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday January 21 2020, @10:56PM (8 children)
Elements in our government, elements so crooked that they would be willing to kill others Hillary-style, are listening.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:00PM (2 children)
Don't worry, Elon Musk is working on a cure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:14PM
Free upgrade next time you book your car in for a cerveza?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @12:24AM
Curing by vehicular incineration? I guess it could work, if it cremates the occupants, further transmission is arrested.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:03PM (2 children)
(Score: 5, Touché) by Osamabobama on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:09PM
2020 yellow flu?
(I realize we can't call it that.)
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @02:11AM
Spanish flu started in 1918 and was declared ended in 1920.
2020 ???
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:14PM (1 child)
Ebola circa 2014-2015 was fun. Just coughing in public could get you a sour look. Before that, swine flu I guess.
Will coronavirus deliver?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:46PM
SARS?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:31PM (5 children)
There's also a league of locusts wreaking havoc: https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/millions-of-locusts-are-wreaking-havoc-in-rajasthan-and-gujarat-the-worst-of-its-kind-invasion-504506.html [indiatimes.com]
And earthquakes in Kansas: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/small-earthquake-reported-south-central-kansas-68390168 [go.com]
Along with volcanic activity: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1228629/Taal-volcano-eruption-PHIVOLCS-earthquake-updates-latest-fissure-volcano-Philippines [express.co.uk]
And temperatures dropping to colder than Mars: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/warmest-temperature-in-alberta-still-colder-than-the-warmest-temperature-on-mars-1.4768811 [ctvnews.ca]
The end times are neigh, if trump is impeached the lord will show his wrath.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:35PM
The lord is the guy who controls whatever superseded HAARP.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @11:54PM (1 child)
Too late, he's already impeached.
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Wednesday January 22 2020, @06:39PM
If Trump has been impeached the Lord® will have showen his wrathings.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday January 22 2020, @12:09AM
Advice to Albertans:
That is really cold.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @12:52PM
Oooh! Is that when this boogaloo gets started and the Christians, the Identitatarians and fellow-travelers at least, start their jihad to cleanse the earth of the inferior races? The women I work with will finally have their fantasy of living in an Amish paradise free of trannies with their reproductive systems completely controlled by their husbands! Trump! Trump! Trump!
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Wednesday January 22 2020, @01:31AM (8 children)
This isn't even worth digging in the pantry for the instant chicken broth powder.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 22 2020, @02:34AM (2 children)
You're really willing to let die 3% of yourself? (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Touché) by RamiK on Wednesday January 22 2020, @02:54AM (1 child)
If it's the waist blubber I'm even willing to pay good money for the job :D
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:46AM
(Let me look in my cupboard after some gangrening agents and see if I can customize any specifically for waist blubber)
We may have a deal.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @09:04AM (1 child)
counting family at ~6 and close friends at ~7, a 3% deathrate is close to claiming one of them. if you add neighbours, you're almost certainly going to at least one funeral. while I find it easy enough to write this down, I don't believe I'm taking it lightly. 3% of the world's population dying would lead to huge changes for the rest as well, for instance a couple of extra civil wars (because someone would be blamed, and someone would be punished). I'm not sure to what extent your opinion or actions matter, but I would recommend that you take a few minutes to really think about the situation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @11:30AM
Why don't you use some common sense before letting the news control your emotions?
That is 3% of people *who went to the hospital because they felt very sick*. It is not 3% of people exposed to the virus or even 3% of people infected with the virus.
Also, all respiratory infections consume vitamin c in your lungs which leads to weakened connective tissue and then pneumonia. If it becomes bad enough you can become critically ill and die. So... take as much as you need, the standard low dose given in the hospital is known to be insufficient. The pharmacokinetics of vitamin C is different in sick people than healthy people, and all the debunkers do is cite studies done in healthy people. When you are sick you need at least 30x more vitamin c than when you are healthy to see the same effects:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5725835/ [nih.gov]
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday January 22 2020, @06:04PM (1 child)
That's only one of the measures as to how damaging something like this can be. How many would have been at risk of death without intervention, and what levels of intervention were required to keep those people going? Answer: You don't know.
Aside from that, there are Coronavirus variants where the death toll has reached 30-40%. Is that enough to gain your attention?
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @06:49PM
No, this is a completely meaningless number out of context. Whatever you think it means, it doesn't.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday January 24 2020, @08:37PM
Last I heard, 3% of patients *died*. How many are going to die but just haven't gotten around to it yet? How many have actually been released from treatment because they are finally healthy again?
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday January 22 2020, @02:16AM (10 children)
WHO [who.int]
NIH [nih.gov]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @02:34AM (9 children)
So they stitched together some dna fragments, but did they detect an actual virus? Did they prove it is the infectious agent via kirchoffs laws, while using the appropriate negative controls?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:06AM (6 children)
There ain't such a thing as an actual virus. Only estimated viruses exist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:10AM
I mean purify the nucleotide polymer that they claim is represented by this sequence from a protective protein/lipid coat that can get transferred from cell to cell and cause these symptoms.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:14AM (4 children)
Keep in mind the human genome has STILL never been completed: https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/20/human-genome-not-fully-sequenced/ [statnews.com]
They did a 80-90% job (in fact no one really knows how much is left), but told everyone is was done. So I don't see why we are just supposed to take the word of these genetics people without experts from other fields weighing in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:24AM (3 children)
Yep, just as I thought:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus/laboratory-diagnostics-for-novel-coronavirus [who.int]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:50AM (1 child)
The linked does not contain the blockquoted content.
Which one - linking error or quotation error?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:57AM
It's in section 3 of the pdf on that page. Most people do not like direct pdf links: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/20200117-interim-laboratory-guidance-version-final.pdf?sfvrsn=cd45dc4b_2&download=true [who.int]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:54AM
[PDF warning]
Laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in suspected human cases - Interim guidance - 17 January 2020 [who.int]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @03:47AM
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch%27s_postulates [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 22 2020, @05:08AM
No, because:
1. they didn't have the negative control, only the ground
2. they couldn't measure the current through the probes because viruses refuse to this day to pass through conductive wires, such as those used by ammeters
3. the potential signal was too noisy
For reference, see Kirchhoff's circuit laws [wikipedia.org]