The US has confirmed it will begin screening certain flights at San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles in a bid to stave off China's mysterious coronavirus.
The true scale of the outbreak of a mysterious SARS-like virus in China is likely far bigger than officially reported, scientists have warned, as countries ramp up measures to prevent the disease from spreading.
Fears that the virus will spread are growing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of Chinese move around the country and many others host or visit extended family members living overseas. Authorities in China say two people have died and at least 45 have been infected, with the outbreak centred around a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan, a city of 11 million inhabitants that serves as a major transport hub.South China Morning Post But a paper published Friday by scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London said the number of cases in the city was likely closer to 1,700. The researchers said their estimate was largely based on the fact that cases had been reported overseas - two in Thailand and one in Japan. The virus - a new strain of coronavirus that humans can contract - has caused alarm because of its connection to SARS , which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. China has not announced any travel restrictions, but authorities in Hong Kong have already stepped up detection measures, including rigorous temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers from the Chinese mainland. Travellers arrive at Los Angeles International Airport after touching down on an Air China flight from Beijing.The US said from Friday it would begin screening flights arriving from Wuhan at San Francisco airport and New York's JFK - which both receive direct flights - as well as Los Angeles, where many flights connect. And Thailand said it was already screening passengers arriving in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket and would soon introduce similar controls in the beach resort of Krabi. No human-to-human transmission has been confirmed so far, but Wuhan's health commission has said the possibility"cannot be excluded". A World Health Organization doctor said it would not be surprising if there was"some limited human-to-human transmission, especially among families who have close contact with one another". Scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis - which advises bodies including the World Health Organization - said they estimated a"total of 1,723" people in Wuhan would have been infected as of January 12."For Wuhan to have exported three cases to other countries would imply there would have to be many more cases than have been reported," Professor Neil Ferguson, one of the authors of the report, told the BBC. "I am substantially more concerned than I was a week ago," he said, while adding that it was"too early to be alarmist". "People should be considering the possibility of substantial human-to-human transmission more seriously than they have so far," he continued, saying it was"unlikely" that animal exposure was the sole source of infection. Local authorities in Wuhan said a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday, becoming the second fatal case, with the disease-causing pulmonary tuberculosis and damage to multiple organ functions.After the death was reported, online discussion spread in China over the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus - and how much information the government may be hiding from the public. Several complained about censorship of online posts, while others made comparisons to 2003, when Beijing drew criticism from the WHO for underreporting the number of SARS cases. "It's so strange," wrote a web user on the social media platform Weibo, citing the overseas cases in Japan and Thailand."They all have Wuhan pneumonia cases but we don't have any infections outside of Wuhan - is that scientific?"
Please follow us on Google to support us Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What a UBS banker's Millennial vegan son reveals about the rise of ChinaIn a country the size of China, with 1.4 billion people, Millennial voices are rising, says Asia Pacific president of UBS. 'They are pushing us to think very carefully. A lot of them are inheriting their parents' business.'
Read more »
Three US airports to screen passengers for mystery Chinese virusThe United States will begin screening efforts at three US airports to detect travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan who may have symptoms of a new respiratory virus that so far has killed two people
Read more »
What a UBS banker's Millennial vegan son reveals about the rise of ChinaWhile many in China still prioritise economic growth over the environment, the head of UBS in the Asia Pacific says the next generation are stepping up to the climate challenge | JennieDuke
Read more »
Concern as 17 more cases of mystery virus surface in China ahead of Lunar New YearChina has reported 17 new cases of the mysterious SARS-like virus, heightening fears ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of people move around the country.
Read more »
New deadly virus from China prompts screenings in US | Sky News AustraliaA new type of virus originating from a city in central China may have infected far more people than first thought.\n\nTwo people in Wuhan have died after an outbreak of pneumonia linked to the new strain which is believed to have come from a seafood market.
Read more »