Page 16 - HOH

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 27 January 2020
Too soon to tell if new virus as dangerous as SARS cousin

By LAURAN NEERGAARD not so much really numbers
and MARIA CHENG that we know will go up."
Associated Press IT'S FLU SEASON IN THE
The new virus from China NORTHERN HEMISPHERE --
has the world on edge be- HOW WILL PEOPLE KNOW
cause it's a close cousin to THE DIFFERENCE?
viruses that killed hundreds Since symptoms are simi-
in separate outbreaks. lar — fever, cough and in
While it's too early to tell if more severe cases short-
this latest threat will prove ness of breath or pneumo-
as deadly, health authori- nia — it'll take a medical
ties are drawing on lessons test to tell. There is one, but
from that grim past. health authorities in China,
WHAT'S THE LINK the U.S. and elsewhere are
The new virus comes from working to make it more
a large family of coronavi- widely available.
ruses, some causing noth- Given that it is flu season
ing worse than a cold. But in China, too, it's "all the
in late 2002, a coronavirus more impressive that they
named SARS erupted in were able to recognize this
southern China, causing outbreak quickly," Dr. Brian
a severe pneumonia that Garibaldi of Johns Hopkins
rapidly spread to other University said.
countries. It infected more Precautions that hospitals
than 8,000 people and often use for flu season
killed 774 -- and then it dis- and for other infectious
appeared, thanks to public diseases should help for
health measures. this, too, Garibaldi added.
In 2012, another corona- For example, in many U.S.
virus dubbed MERS be- hospitals people are given
gan sickening people in masks if they arrive with a
Saudi Arabia. It's still hang- fever and cough during flu
ing around, causing small season. And a legacy of
numbers of infections each the 2014 West Africa Ebola
year: The World Health Or- outbreak -- which also re-
ganization has counted sulted in infected travelers
nearly 2,500 cases of MERS In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, file photo, a staff member moves bio-waste containers past the -- is that doctors and hos-
in the Middle East and be- entrance of the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center in Wuhan, China, where some people infected pitals are supposed to ask
yond, and more than 850 with a new virus are being treated. about recent foreign trips.
deaths. Associated Press HUNTING VACCINES
So far, deaths from the new While there is no vaccine —
virus have been a small can catch MERS from in- Experts can't yet tell wheth- probably transmits through or specific treatment — for
fraction of the roughly 1,300 fected camels, although er the new virus called close contact," said Dr. Da- SARS or MERS, Fauci said it is
confirmed infections, most again, bats likely first spread 2019-nCoV -- it stands for vid Heymann, who head- technically possible to cre-
of those cases in China. that coronavirus to camels. "novel coronavirus" — is ed WHO's global response ate a vaccine against this
WHERE DO THESE VIRUSES That animal-to-human more like SARS or MERS. to SARS. And while it's too new virus. NIH did develop
COME FROM? jump is a huge concern for Genetically, they're all soon to be sure, Heymann a potential vaccine can-
SARS and MERS came from all kinds of viruses. Every so closely related but "they said the new virus appears didate for SARS. It proved
animals, and this newest often, new strains of bird flu really are different viruses," most dangerous to older safe in a small first-step
virus almost certainly did, make the jump from Asian said Dr. Anthony Fauci, in- adults who have other study in people but never
too. The first people infect- live poultry markets to peo- fectious diseases chief at health problems. . was tested further because
ed visited or worked at a ple, for example. the U.S. National Institutes Complicating matters, if by then, the outbreak was
seafood market in the Chi- "These wildlife markets are of Health. this new virus is fairly mild, ending.
nese city of Wuhan. a risk," said Dr. Ian Lipkin One indication of a vi- it may be harder to stem This time around, scientists
SARS initially was traced of Columbia University, rus' danger is how easily it the spread. That's because have more of a head start.
to civet cats sold in a live who assisted the WHO and spreads from person to per- people who aren't sick Just weeks after the first
animal market, but later China during the SARS out- son. enough to see a doctor unusual pneumonias were
scientists decided it prob- break and advises Saudi Unlike SARS, "it looks like it and thus don't learn they reported, Chinese scientists
ably originated in bats that Arabia about MERS. doesn't transmit through should be isolated could mapped the genes of the
infected the civets. People HOW SIMILAR ARE THEY? the air very easily and keep spreading it, noted viral suspect and shared
Neil Ferguson of Imperial them with world health au-
College London, who has thorities. Now, NIH is among
consulted for WHO. Nor is several groups working to
there any way to know yet create a vaccine for the
how often people become new virus, using newer and
infected but show no obvi- faster technology than was
ous symptoms. available during SARS. Fau-
"We may see more mild ci hopes to begin first-step
cases as the surveillance in- safety tests in about three
tensifies," WHO spokesman months, but something
Tarik Jasarevic said Friday ready for real-world use
in Geneva. "So the issue is would take far longer.q