BUG UNLEASHED
Coronavirus spread may be unstoppable as Chinese New Year sparks THREE BILLION trips and ‘super-spreaders’ fuel crisis
THERE are fears the deadly coronavirus could become global with Chinese New Year sparking three BILLION trips.
At least nine people have died while 440 victims have been infected, mainly in Wuhan which is the epicentre of the .
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The WHO announced it will hold an Emergency Committee meeting in Geneva tomorrow, to determine if the outbreak should be classed as a global crisis, like Ebola in 2014.
And with confirmed cases in the United States, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Macau and Hong Kong there are concerns that the upcoming Lunar New Year could spark a global pandemic.
In fact, today it has been reported that will be announced, according to federal sources.
This Saturday marks the first day of the country’s New Year celebrations which is known as the "largest annual human migration in the world.”
Hundreds of millions of Chinese people will return home via planes, trains, ferries and by car – sparking mass movement within China as well as from abroad.
According to the Washington Post, the holiday will result in an astonishing three billion trips.
The climbing death toll comes amid reports the '2019-nCoV' strain has spread to other countries and major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and southern Guangdong province.
Taiwan is the latest country to confirm a case of the lethal SARS-like virus - after Australian officials said a man is being tested amid fears he picked up the bug in China.
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Speaking on LBC today, leading virologist Professor John Oxford, from Queen Mary College, said he was "quaking in my shoes" at the potential for spread over the holidays.
He said: "None of us have faced a new virus with so many people in a community travelling around.
"That's what's going to happen in China at the end of the week.
"Once they are close together in taxis or small rooms, then there may be a problem.
"The only way to stop it is physical cleaning and social distance - keeping away from people."
IMPENDING CRISIS
British experts have today warned the true number of cases is more likely to range from 1,000 to 10,000.
Professor Neil Ferguson, an expert in mathematical biology at Imperial College London told reporters in London the death rate for the new strain of coronavirus is "roughly the same as for The Spanish flu epidemic, at around one in 50".
The 1918 outbreak is the most severe pandemic in recent history, wiping out an estimated 50 million people across the world.
Prof Ferguson warned of "more deaths to come" as fellow experts said the outbreak has reached the threshold for an international public health emergency - ahead of today's World Health Organization meeting on the issue.
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WHO's regional director for the western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai, said: "Information about newly reported infections suggest there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission."
Officials confirmed this week that coronavirus - which causes pneumonia - can be passed from person to person.
This has sparked fears that people infected could become a “super-spreaders” – someone who transmits the virus to a greater number of people than the average victim.
The outbreak has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
SARS spread into different countries due to a combination of a few super-spreaders and international travel.
The mayor of Wuhan confirmed the latest deaths today, an 89-year-old man from the city, which is home to more than 11 million people.
A 66-year-old man, known only as Li, and a woman, 48, known as Yin were also confirmed to have died from multiple organ failure.
In Taiwan today, an epidemic response command centre has been set up with more than 1,000 beds prepared in isolation wards in case the virus spreads further.
There, health officials confirmed a woman, thought to be in her 50s, had caught the new strain.
She is currently in hospital and receiving treatment, according to local media reports.
So far, the WHO has not advised travel or trade restrictions but could put such measures in place at tomorrow's emergency meeting.
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The origin of the virus is not get known, but experts say the most likely source is an animal.
Chinese officials have linked the outbreak last month to a seafood market in the city of Wuhan - where more than 270 cases have been confirmed.
The new strain belongs to a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The common early signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, according to WHO.
In more severe cases, it can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, and those seriously ill developed pneumonia.
GLOBAL SCREENING
In Australia, border forces have been ordered to ensure all sick passengers are assessed by a trained Biosecurity officer on arrival.
Chief health officer Brendan Murphy said the risk was low but added the three daily flights from Wuhan will be met by medics in response to the "rapidly emerging situation".
State health officials in New South Wales are distributing pamphlets in English and Chinese to all passengers arriving from Wuhan describing the symptoms.
The crackdown comes as it was revealed the virus was feared to have reached Australia after a man was tested for the killer mystery bug.
The man, from Brisbane, was displaying symptoms of the fatal coronavirus after returning from a family holiday and has been placed in quarantine.
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The US has also started screening passengers on flights from Wuhan arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International airport.
Other international airports are also screening passengers for the mysterious SARS-like disease after it was revealed it had jumped China’s borders.
A video has been shared widely on Twitter showing people on a domestic flight out of the central Chinese city of Wuhan having their temperature taken one-by-one by people in protective suits.
Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to more severe ones such as SARS.
The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of that epidemic but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician.
While NHS chiefs have urged doctors in the UK to be alert to signs of the killer virus, they said today the threat to Brits is "low".
A Brit on holiday in Thailand is feared to be the first western victim of the illness.
Ash Shorley, 32, was rushed to hospital after the bug infected both lungs while he was on Koh Phi Phi island in Thailand.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
In most cases, you won't know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.
British experts say number of cases of coronavirus in Wuhan, China could be as high as 10,000
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