Wuhan outbreak: British tourist battling for life in Thailand could be first western victim of deadly virus
A British man may have contracted the mysterious and deadly "Wuhan virus" during his Thailand visit, claim reports. The new pneumonia-causing virus, whose origins have been traced to a seafood market in China's Wuhan, has killed at least four people.
The flu has since spread to three other Asian countries: Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
Ash Shorley, 32, the British man, may have picked up the virus during his stay in Thailand's Koh Phi Phi island.
Shorly, who is currently being treated in a hospital in Thailand, is battling lung infection. His symptoms are similar to Wuhan virus, according to doctors treating him. People infected with the virus show signs of respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, experts said.
Gofundme, an American for-profit crowdfunding platform, is helping Shorley cover his medical cost, and is accepting donations.
According to Chinese authorities, more than 218 people have been affected by the Wuhan virus. But according to a few scientists, the number of people already infected by the mystery virus emerging in China is far greater than the official figures. They estimate that over 1,700 people could be suffering from the illness.
"For Wuhan to have exported three cases to other countries would imply there would have to be many more cases than have been reported," disease outbreak scientist, Prof Neil Ferguson, told BBC News.
Earlier, Chinese officials said they had not found cases of the virus spreading from one person to another. But recently, the officials have announced that the virus can pass from person-to-person.
Health experts fear that the number of cases might rise and the outbreak will clash with the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday period, during which millions of Chinese travel locally and overseas.
The Wuhan virus is a type of coronavirus and is closely related to another virus, SARS. The SARS outbreak killed nearly 800 people worldwide.
“I remember the SARS outbreak very, very clearly and the impact it had. These things have an enormous hit on economies,” Rob Carnell, Dutch bank ING’s chief economist, adding that some countries even slipped into recession, told CNBC news.
Government and World Health Organization reports indicate that the virus is less deadly than SARS. The response from Beijing is also far faster this time than it was in 2002-2004, according to Rory Green, economist for China and South Korea at research firm TS Lombard.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee on the virus on Wednesday. "The outbreak was still in its early stages and China had good surveillance and quarantine systems to help control it, Zhong Nanshan," a scientist at the National Health Commission, told the state news agency Xinhua.