Tuesday 28 January 2020

The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 131 people and infected more than 4,600. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.

Wuhan virus China Beijing railway stationKevin Frayer/Getty Images

The death toll of a coronavirus outbreak sweeping China has hit 131, with more than 4,600 people infected.

The virus may have originated at a wet market in the city of Wuhan. It has spread to at least 16 countries outside of China: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Ivory Coast, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

Five US cases have been reported so far: a man in his 30s in Washington state, a woman in her 60s in Chicago, two people in California, and one in Arizona. Three patients in France were the first in Europe, and Germany reported four cases as of Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that the virus was spreading quickly and posed a "grave threat."

Here's everything we know:

The first case of the coronavirus was reported in Wuhan in December. The central Chinese city has a population of 11 million.

Ruobing Su/Business Insider

The virus' pneumonia-like symptoms include fever and difficulty breathing.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a person could be at risk if they have:

  • Fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness, such as coughing or difficulty breathing, after traveling to Wuhan or having close contact with someone who was ill and is now under investigation for the virus in the past two weeks.
  • Fever or symptoms of lower respiratory illness after having close contact in the past two weeks with someone who's been confirmed to have the virus.

Chinese health officials say the incubation period for the virus ranges from one to 14 days, during which time carriers can be infectious. 



The virus has killed at least 131 people.

Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

"The people who are likely to die first will have other illnesses," Adrian Hyzler, the chief medical officer at Healix International, which offers risk-management solutions for global travelers, told Business Insider. "But as it spreads, it'll pick up more people like flu does."

Most patients who died were elderly or otherwise unwell, according to Chinese officials. But one recent victim was a 36-year-old man.




See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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