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Wuhan coronavirus: Deadly disease rapidly goes global posing 'high risk'

A man from Washington became the first US citizen to contract the disease and is currently in treatment
UPDATED JAN 24, 2020
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)

The Wuhan coronavirus, which seems to have emerged out of a wildlife market in the city of Wuhan, has spread to other parts of the globe, sickening over 800. The death toll in China currently stands at 26.

The first patient outside China's borders was in Thailand. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient was a woman who had visited Wuhan earlier. "Currently, cases infected in China have been exported to the US, Thailand, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It is expected that more cases will be exported to other countries and that further transmission may occur," the WHO said in its recent situation report.

Cases in Asia

Since the first patient was identified, Thailand has recorded three confirmed cases of the viral disease, bringing the count to four. South Korea, Japan and Vietnam have all confirmed two cases each, while Singapore has confirmed a case. All the cases involve people who had either come from Wuhan or been there recently.

Countries are taking precautions to screen Chinese tourists  (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

Cases in the West 

A man from Washington had contracted the disease during his visit to Wuhan. The man is being treated by a few medical officials and a robot.

"The robot, equipped with a stethoscope, is helping doctors take the man's vitals and communicate with him through a large screen," Dr George Diaz, chief of the infectious disease division at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, told CNN.

Meanwhile, another man is showing symptoms similar to the Wuhan coronavirus. The student from Texas, who recently traveled to Wuhan, went to an emergency department with a cough and congestion. He is currently placed under isolation at his home, as healthcare workers perform tests to determine whether the student contracted the coronavirus. 

In the UK, nine people, who are suspected of having the infection, are awaiting their results, according to Public Health England. All these patients had been to Wuhan, they add.

It is not a global emergency yet

The World Health Organization took stock of the situation and announced that it was 'too early' to call the viral outbreak a global emergency.

The WHO defines a global emergency, formally known as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.”

“Make no mistake, this is, though, an emergency in China. But it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” said Tedros Adhanom, director general of the WHO, in a press conference. “The fact that I am not declaring a [global health emergency] today should not be taken as a sign that the WHO does not think the situation is serious or is not taking it seriously.” The virus poses a high risk within China and globally, he said. 
 

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