China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that struck 59 people is caused by a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS, which killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago.
Lead scientist Xu Jianguo told the official Xinhua news agency that experts had "preliminarily determined" a new type of coronavirus was behind the outbreak, first confirmed on 31 December in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of more than 11 million.
"A total of 15 positive results of the new type of coronavirus had been detected" in the lab, through tests on infected blood samples and throat swabs, Mr Xu said. The virus has also been detected in Thailand, where doctors diagnosed a Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on 8 January later confirmed to have been caused by the coronavirus.
A Chinese transport ministry official said at a briefing that arrangements were made for "disinfection, monitoring and prevention" focusing on areas with large numbers of passengers, including stations and cargo hubs. In Hong Kong, hospitals have raised their alert level to "serious" and stepped up detection measures - including temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers.
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WHO warns of possible wider outbreak of new China virusA new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS disease has spread beyond China's borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand yesterday, UN and Thai officials said.
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WHO warns of possible wider outbreak of new China virusA new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS disease has spread beyond China's borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand yesterday, UN and Thai officials said.
Read more »