WHO Highlights Human to Human Transmission Concerns From Wuhan Coronavirus as Death Toll Rises to 133

Chinese officials confirmed Wednesday that the number of people infected by a new form of coronavirus in the country has reached more than 6,000, a total that surpasses the official cases tallied on the mainland during an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002 and 2003. SARS infected 5,237 people in mainland China, and killed almost 800 people across the world. The new SARS-like form of coronavirus has killed 133 people in China and more than 3,500 cases have been confirmed in Hubei, the province where Wuhan is located, according to a virus tracker maintained by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, which uses numbers from China’s National Health Commission and DXY.cn, an online medical professional network. The disease, which is believed to have originated in a seafood market in the Chinese central city of Wuhan, has also spread to other countries, including the U.S., where five cases have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The World Health Organization (WHO) stated Wednesday that it is reconsidering whether to declare a global public health emergency as part of their response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The agency highlighted concerns about human-to-human transmission, especially in Germany, Vietnam and Japan, as well as the “rapid acceleration” of confirmed cases of the disease. An emergency committee will reconvene Wednesday to make a decision, the WHO said. Last week, the committee de...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized 2019-nCoV China Infectious Disease onetime overnight Source Type: news