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Coronavirus: 41 people are dead in China; Virus spreads in Japan; Read Details
A total of 41 people from China have passed away due to the coronavirus. Health Ministry of Japan also announced its first case in the country after a man was diagnosed with the same disease.
The coronavirus killed two men aged 61 and 69 in Wuhan, China. And now, the Health Ministry of Japan has confirmed its first case of the disease after a man in his 30s was diagnosed with the same virus. Apparently, he had been to Wuhan, where there has been an outbreak of pneumonia. In Wuhan, 41 patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus. The native from Japan developed a fever and cough on January 3 before returning to Tokyo, his hometown on January 6. When his symptoms persisted for four days, he went to the hospital and his reports revealed the signs of pneumonia. Recently, the same coronavirus has been detected in other patients in Wuhan as well, the ministry revealed. World Health Organization (WHO) warned the hospitals worldwide that the new virus may spread soon.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus that spreads similarly to colds and the flu. The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions. It is a part of the large family of viruses that cause infections from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Some of the types of this virus are less serious and some are more severe, which can even cause Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The symptoms of this virus are runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches. This highly contagious virus can affect through simply contact with anything.
Test developed to diagnose the virus
Several people of China are now affected by this virus and one person has already died. Dr Christian Drosten from the Institute for Virology at Berlin's Charite hospital said the test developed by his team will allow labs to reliably diagnose the coronavirus sooner. Protocols for the test are also being made now. And laboratories can now order a molecule from the German team to compare the patient samples with it. Doctor Drosten further said that they are receiving orders and so are starting to post the molecule soon. But he said they are more concerned about the labs of those countries where the transportation is not easy to send the samples. They are also thinking about those where staffs are not that trained to do the test.
Known deaths
Wuhan officials said that last weekend 41 people have been diagnosed with pneumonia by the new coronavirus and a 61-year-old man died. He has been the first known death from the virus according to the officials. Later, WHO took the initiative of consulting with Thai and Chinese Health authorities after a case was reported in Thailand of a Chinese traveller. According to the official, the traveller said that he did not go to the fish market in Wuhan, which is linked to the pneumonia outbreak. But he had close contact with at least one person with pneumonia symptoms at a place, where he stayed during his visit.
