Tuesday, 4 February 2020

The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 492 people and infected more than 23,000. 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 reached at least 492, with more than 23,000 people infected as of Tuesday morning.

A man in the Philippines became the first person to die of the virus outside of mainland China on Saturday, followed by a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong on Tuesday. 

The virus has spread to every province and region in China as well at least 25 other countries. The death toll and number of infected patients in mainland China has exceeded that of the 2003 SARS outbreak there (though the total SARS death toll remains higher).

The virus might have jumped from animals to people at a market in the city of Wuhan. Outside of China, cases have been reported in Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US, and Vietnam.

The US has reported 11 cases so far: Six people in California; a husband and wife in Chicago, Illinois; a man in his 30s in Washington state; one patient in Arizona; and one in Massachusetts.

The World Health Organization declared a public-health emergency last week and Chinese President Xi Jinping said the virus poses 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 and Prevention (CDC), 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 1 to 14 days, during which time carriers can be infectious. 



The virus has killed at least 492 people in China and abroad.

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 victim was a 36-year-old man.




See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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