At least 56 people have died from a new coronavirus in China following an outbreak in the central city of Wuhan, forcing a government lockdown in at least 13 cities with a population of 36 million people.
At least 1,287 cases have been reported as of Saturday, the vast majority in the Chinese city and neighbouring cities.The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Saturday clarified that there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pakistan as four Chinese nationals have been admitted to hospitals in Multan and Lahore and showing symptoms of the disease.
NIH chief Major General Dr Aamer Ikram said a suspected patient had been admitted to the Nishtar Hospital, Multan and kept in the isolation ward after he showed symptoms of the disease including flu, cough and fever.
“His clinical condition is stable now and its does not seem to be a case of the novel coronavirus,” he added.Samples from the suspected patients have been taken and sent to China for confirmation as there are no laboratories in Pakistan equipped to diagnose the pathogen.
According to sources, the Chinese national travelled from China to Dubai and reached Karachi on January 21. After landing in Karachi, he took a flight to Multan.
Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said the report about the diagnosis of the first case of the new coronavirus strain in Pakistan was incorrect
“[The] Chinese [national] kept in isolation in Nishtar Hospital, Multan is improving. No signs of sever acute respiratory infection. He is being managed in line with standard protocol as a suspect. Alhamdolilah, Pakistan does not have any coronavirus patient until now, and we are alert!” he tweeted.
In Lahore, three Chinese nationals were admitted to the Services Hospital and shifted to the isolation ward.
According to hospital sources, the suspected patients were residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan and had recently arrived in Lahore.
“They came to the hospital complaining of chest pain, fever, flu and cough,” a senior doctor at the hospital told The Express Tribune. “They were shifted to isolation ward and their blood samples were collected. These samples will be sent for confirmation.”
According to the foreign ministry, there are 28,000 Pakistani students in China. Around 800 Pakistan traders are living in China and 1,500 others frequently travel there. Over 500 students are studying in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pathogen first emerged.
The virus has killed 41 people in China and infected more than 1,300 globally. It has been detected in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the United States.
Pakistan will approach the authorities in China and The Netherlands to help confirm suspected cases of passengers arriving in the country.
There are only a few laboratories in the world that can detect 2019-nCoV, a new strain of coronavirus that had not been previously identified in humans and little is known about it.
Only the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and some laboratories in China and The Netherlands can confirm cases.
“We will send samples to these countries for confirmation,” Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Friday
The previously unknown strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an animal market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million that is under severe travel restrictions with urban transport shut and outgoing flights suspended.
China has advised people to avoid crowds and more than 10 cities in the central province of Hubei, where Wuhan is located, have suspended some transport.
NIH chief Major General Dr Aamer Ikram said a suspected patient had been admitted to the Nishtar Hospital, Multan and kept in the isolation ward after he showed symptoms of the disease including flu, cough and fever.
“His clinical condition is stable now and its does not seem to be a case of the novel coronavirus,” he added.Samples from the suspected patients have been taken and sent to China for confirmation as there are no laboratories in Pakistan equipped to diagnose the pathogen.
According to sources, the Chinese national travelled from China to Dubai and reached Karachi on January 21. After landing in Karachi, he took a flight to Multan.
Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said the report about the diagnosis of the first case of the new coronavirus strain in Pakistan was incorrect
“[The] Chinese [national] kept in isolation in Nishtar Hospital, Multan is improving. No signs of sever acute respiratory infection. He is being managed in line with standard protocol as a suspect. Alhamdolilah, Pakistan does not have any coronavirus patient until now, and we are alert!” he tweeted.
In Lahore, three Chinese nationals were admitted to the Services Hospital and shifted to the isolation ward.
According to hospital sources, the suspected patients were residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan and had recently arrived in Lahore.
“They came to the hospital complaining of chest pain, fever, flu and cough,” a senior doctor at the hospital told The Express Tribune. “They were shifted to isolation ward and their blood samples were collected. These samples will be sent for confirmation.”
According to the foreign ministry, there are 28,000 Pakistani students in China. Around 800 Pakistan traders are living in China and 1,500 others frequently travel there. Over 500 students are studying in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pathogen first emerged.
The virus has killed 41 people in China and infected more than 1,300 globally. It has been detected in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the United States.
Pakistan will approach the authorities in China and The Netherlands to help confirm suspected cases of passengers arriving in the country.
There are only a few laboratories in the world that can detect 2019-nCoV, a new strain of coronavirus that had not been previously identified in humans and little is known about it.
Only the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and some laboratories in China and The Netherlands can confirm cases.
“We will send samples to these countries for confirmation,” Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Friday
The previously unknown strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an animal market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million that is under severe travel restrictions with urban transport shut and outgoing flights suspended.
China has advised people to avoid crowds and more than 10 cities in the central province of Hubei, where Wuhan is located, have suspended some transport.
There are growing concerns about the spread of the virus as hundreds of millions of people travel for the Lunar New Year celebrations, which started on Friday.
Here is what you need to know:
What is coronavirus?
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
These viruses are transmitted between animals and people. SARS, for instance, was believed to have been transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS travelled from a type of camel to humans.
Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the image of the virus is reminiscent of a solar corona.
A novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and currently named 2019-nCoV, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans.
Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.
What are the symptoms?
According to the WHO, signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
The incubation period of the coronavirus remains unknown. Some sources say it could be between 10 to 14 days.
How deadly is it?
Some experts say it may not be as deadly as other types of coronavirus such as SARS, which killed nearly 800 people worldwide during a 2002-2003 outbreak that also originated from China.
MERS, which did not spread as widely, was more deadly, killing a third of those it infected.
Where have cases been reported?
Most cases have been reported in China.
As of January 24, Chinese officials said at least 26 people have died, all in Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital. That is also where most of the 830 reported cases are.
Other countries have reported far fewer cases, in the examples below less than 10.
These include: Thailand; Singapore; Vietnam; Japan; the United States; South Korea; France and Nepal.
All the cases involve people who had either come from Wuhan or been there recently.
What is being done to stop it spreading?
There is no vaccine for the new virus.
Chinese authorities effectively sealed off Wuhan on Thursday, suspending flights and trains out of the city and telling residents they could not leave without a special reason, state media said.
The move was meant to "resolutely contain the momentum of the epidemic spreading" and protect lives, the central city's special command centre against the virus said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
At least 12 other Chinese cities were added to the transport ban on Friday, affecting more than 20 million people.
Chinese authorities have also stepped up monitoring and disinfection efforts in advance of the Lunar New Year break.
Airport authorities from Asia and the Middle East to Europe and the US are also screening passengers.
Where did the virus originate?
Chinese health authorities are still trying to determine the origin of the virus, which they say came from a seafood market in Wuhan where wildlife was also traded illegally.
The WHO also says an animal source appears most likely to be the primary source of the outbreak.
Snakes - including the Chinese krait and the cobra - may be the source of the newly discovered virus, according to Chinese scientists.
There is evidence of respiratory transmission of the virus from patient to patient and Chinese authorities have said 15 medical staff in the country have been infected.
Experts worry when health workers get sick during new outbreaks because this can suggest the disease is becoming more transmissible and because spread in hospitals can often amplify the epidemic.
Is this a global emergency?
The outbreak does not yet constitute a global emergency, the WHO has said, urging China to keep its lockdown "short".
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the decision to hold off on issuing the declaration used for the gravest epidemics should not be taken as a sign that the body does not think the situation is serious.
"This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency," he told reporters.
