Coronavirus spreads to third family member

Sars-like novel coronavirus infects third person related to original carrier, as health agency insists transmission risk is lowA third member of one UK family has been infected by the new Sars-like virus that appears to have originated in the Middle East, according to the Health Protection Agency.The first member of the family to fall ill had travelled to the Middle East and Pakistan. That person and a relative who had a pre-existing medical condition, which might have made them more susceptible to infection, were admitted to a Manchester hospital.But the third family member to have contracted the novel coronavirus is said by the HPA to be recovering from a mild respiratory illness and is well. He or she has been advised not to meet with other people who are not part of the family, but only as a precaution. Other relatives and contacts of the latest person to be diagnosed are still being tracked down and tested.There have been 12 confirmed cases worldwide, of which four were found in Britain. Three in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan have died. But the HPA made it clear it did not consider the latest case to be an escalation of the problem.Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, said: "Although this case appears to be due to person-to-person transmission, the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low. If novel coronavirus were more infectious, we would have expected to have seen a larger number of ca...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Manchester The Guardian Greater Manchester Infectious diseases News Health Medical research Microbiology Society UK news Science Source Type: news