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China - Original COVID-19 coronavirus news thread: weeks 1 - 4 (December 30, 2019 - January 25, 2020)

Translation Google

Author: Li Chenyang Ding Suya Source: Science China Press Published: 2020-1-10

We are not panic in the face of Wuhan pneumonia epidemic

——Interview with Rao Zihe, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

■ Reporter Li Chenyang Intern Ding Suya

On January 9, Xinhua News Agency reported that new progress has been made in the pathogenic identification of unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan. As of 21:00 on January 7, 2020, a new coronavirus was detected in the laboratory. The expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained case of viral pneumonia was initially identified as a new type of coronavirus.

After the latest conclusion was released, the Chinese Science News interviewed Rao Zihe, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to explain the series of coronavirus research.

China Science News: After SARS in 2003, we have dealt with Coronavirus several times. What lessons can we learn from it?

Rao Zihe: There are many types of coronaviruses that can infect humans and many animals. Prior to 2002, although coronavirus was a serious threat to the livestock industry, it was not harmful to humans and could cause the common cold that people are familiar with. But between 2002 and 2003, the SARS coronavirus triggered a severe pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (commonly known as SARS).

The natural host of SARS coronavirus in nature is actually a bat. Due to human activities or other accidental reasons, the virus transmitted from animals to humans and caused a major outbreak. Although new coronaviruses have been found intermittently since then, they do not appear to have triggered a major human epidemic.

After 10 years of silence, MERS coronavirus has caused a Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in the Middle East. There are various signs that the natural host of MERS coronavirus may still be bats, but the outbreak was caused by camel transmission. This time, a new coronavirus has caused viral pneumonia in Wuhan.

The fights with the coronavirus several times were caused by the virus that originally used wild animals as the host from animal to human. This reminds us that protecting the living environment of wild animals may be the best way to keep away from wild animal pathogens. It is very important to reduce the invasion of bats and other wild animal habitats, and to avoid close contact of these natural hosts with humans and animals.

"China Science News": Around the scientific research of coronaviruses, what do scientists do in recent years?

Rao Zihe: In response to major diseases caused by coronavirus, scientists have carried out a lot of research in epidemiology, pathogenic mechanism and prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in recent years.

For example, it is found that the natural host of SARS virus and MERS virus in nature may be bats; the main receptors of SARS virus and MERS virus invading human cells were found to be ACE2 and DPP4 (also known as CD26), and then the virus surface proteins and human body were analyzed The three-dimensional spatial structure of the cell receptor complex clarifies the molecular mechanism of the virus invading cells; the three-dimensional spatial structure of key drug targets such as the coronavirus main protease is analyzed; a targeted broad-spectrum inhibitor is designed and developed; The mechanism of action of the inhibitor.

These basic research work together with the prevention and control of infectious diseases have accumulated a lot of experience for us to deal with coronavirus. Therefore, after the appearance of the coronavirus, we were not as nervous and panic as we were during the SARS epidemic in 2003. Compared with 2003, our prevention system, scientific research system, and understanding of coronavirus are no longer comparable. We are more confident. Of course, one should not take it lightly, but continue to study.

"China Science News": For the follow-up scientific research of coronavirus, what other aspects do you think should start from?

Rao Zihe: Since 2003, the pace of development of coronavirus-based drugs has been slower, so that no effective drugs have been developed that can be marketed. Pharmaceutical companies may not have enough motivation to do the job. After taking the medicine, the disease is gone. Where can I put the medicine? Therefore, I believe that scientists should shoulder this responsibility.

As a national scientific research institution, we should step up efforts to promote drug research and development in order to cope with the emergencies caused by coronavirus in the future.

In fact, since 2003, our team has not relaxed the research on coronavirus, but has always been biting forward in this direction. At the same time, there are still a number of domestic research teams focusing on solving the problem of coronavirus.

China Science News (2020-01-10 First Edition Highlights)

http://news.sciencenet.cn/sbhtmlnews/2020/1/352728.shtm
 
[h=1]Wuhan's unexplained viral pneumonia patients can be controlled[/h]

At the end of December 2019, a number of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia were confirmed in Wuhan. As of January 5, a total of 59 cases were confirmed. On January 9, 2020, the assessment expert group initially identified the unidentified pneumonia pathogen of Wuhan as a new coronavirus.

Hu Ke, an expert in the medical treatment team for unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan and a professor of respiratory medicine at the Hubei Provincial People's Hospital, said on January 10 that most patients are currently mild to moderate. After treatment, the patient's condition can be controlled, and some of the patients who were initially admitted have been cured and discharged. Most of the other patients in the hospital are stable.
Since the end of December 2019, Wuhan has confirmed a number of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia. As of January 5, 2020, a total of 59 cases have been confirmed. Some of these patients are operators of the South China Seafood Wholesale Market. On January 9, Xu Jianguo, the leader of the preliminary assessment of pathogen detection results and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained viral pneumonia case was initially identified as a new type of coronavirus.
Hu Ke said that the main clinical manifestations of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia are mostly fever, fatigue, cough, and low sputum. Some patients have symptoms such as dyspnea as the disease progresses. Laboratory tests showed that the total number of white blood cells was normal or decreased in the early stage of onset, the lymphocyte count decreased, and some patients had elevated liver and muscle enzyme levels. Chest imaging showed multiple ground glassy exudates in the lungs.
He said that by analyzing the collected data of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia, he found that the disease manifested as acute severe respiratory syndrome, mainly pneumonia. In the early stages of the disease, more than 90% have fever, about 80% have dry cough, more than 20% have chest tightness, about 20% have shortness of breath, and about 15% have dyspnea; about 80% of the cases have a normal or reduced white blood cell count, in all cases All had chest radiographic pneumonia.



https://www.cn-healthcare.com/article/20200110/content-528579.html
 
Wuhan New Coronavirus Related Science Popularization


A few days ago, regarding the progress of the pathogenic identification of the viral pneumonia epidemic of unknown cause in Wuhan, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency interviewed Xu Jianguo, the leader of the preliminary assessment of pathogenic test results and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He said that the expert group believed that the pathogen of this unexplained case of viral pneumonia was initially determined to be a new coronavirus. This article will be based on this interview for further scientific popularization.

Question 1: At present, what progress has been made in the pathogenic identification of unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan?


Xu Jianguo: As of 21:00 on January 7, 2020, a new coronavirus was detected in the laboratory, and the entire genome sequence of the virus was obtained. A total of 15 positive results of the new coronavirus were detected by nucleic acid detection methods. From 1 positive patient The virus was isolated from the samples and showed a typical coronavirus appearance under an electron microscope.
The expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained case of viral pneumonia was initially identified as a new type of coronavirus.

This article expands: discovering and identifying new viruses and determining the relationship between new viruses and diseases are the primary tasks for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of new-onset toxic infectious diseases. Traditionally, there are many methods for discovering new viruses, such as virus isolation, nucleic acid testing, serological tests, etc., but they all have certain limitations. High-throughput sequencing technology breaks through the limitations of traditional techniques and methods, and can directly take all genetic material in the specimen as the research object, so that it can quickly identify the virus present in the specimen.

1.png


Figure 1 Schematic diagram of macrotranscriptome sequencing based on shotgun method.
(A) Sample collection (B) Preliminary processing of samples (C) Extraction of nucleic acids from samples (D) Construction of sequencing libraries (E) High-throughput sequencing (F) Information analysis of sequencing sequences

​
Question 2: How is the pathogen identification carried out?


Xu Jianguo: The tissue laboratory used genomic sequencing, nucleic acid detection, virus isolation and other methods to perform pathogenic tests on patients' alveolar lavage fluid, throat swabs, blood and other samples.

This article expands: Genome sequencing generally first prepares samples and filters them, and then extracts the supernatant for RNA extraction. After the extracted RNA is removed from DNA and ribosomal RNA, the library is constructed by reverse transcription of random primers in vitro; sequencing Performed on second- or third-generation high-throughput sequencing platforms. Sequencing data is subjected to quality control, and the host genome sequence is removed for splicing. This pathogen identification should use both second- and third-generation sequencing platforms to obtain the entire genome sequence of the virus in a short period of time (this process takes 2-3 days).

2.png


Figure 2 Comparison of read length, accuracy, time, throughput, and cost of three generations of sequencing technology

After obtaining the whole genome sequence of the virus, primers can be designed to perform PCR reactions to detect the nucleic acid of the sample to determine whether the sample contains the virus's nucleic acid (this process can take 1 to 2 days). Alveolar lavage fluid, throat swabs, blood and other host-derived substances that contain viruses are called disease materials. Passage cell lines and primary cells are commonly used for isolation of viruses. Animal inoculation and chicken embryo inoculation can also be used for viruses when necessary. Separation. Viruses that have been successfully isolated are preferably expanded by cell culture. Animals, chicken embryos, and tissues can also be used for virus expansion and culture. Pure viruses after culture can be used for identification, typing, infection characteristics, and pathogenicity studies (this The process time is generally longer, but because of SARS experience, if it goes well, it will take 3-5 days).

Question 3: What procedures are needed to identify the pathogen?


Xu Jianguo: To confirm the cause of an epidemic disease, usually the following points must be met: (1) Suspicious pathogens must be found in patients, and pathogenic nucleic acids can be detected in clinical samples of patients; (2) From clinical samples of patients The pathogen can be successfully isolated; (3) The isolated pathogen can cause the same disease symptoms after infecting the host animal. The patient's serum antibody titer during the recovery period increased four-fold, which can help identify the pathogen.

Finding the nucleic acid, genomic and antibody evidence of the pathogen from the patient can be done in a short time. Scientific research, such as pathogen isolation and pathogenicity identification, can take weeks. The development of specific drugs and vaccines against a new pathogen may take years to complete.

This article expands: The research on the new virus has now completed the isolation of pathogens, and pathogenicity identification and the development of specific drugs and vaccines have just begun.

Question 4: What is the next step?


Xu Jianguo: The expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained case of viral pneumonia is initially determined as a new type of coronavirus. The next step is to conduct expert research and judgement in combination with etiology research, epidemiological investigation and clinical manifestations.

This article expands: Coronavirus is a single-stranded positive-stranded RNA virus with an envelope. It belongs to the coronavirus family Coronavirus in a systematic classification. It can infect humans, mice, pigs, cats, dogs, birds, and other vertebrates, and cause gastrointestinal Tract, respiratory and nervous system disorders. It has been over 70 years since the first coronavirus was first discovered and reported. However, since most members of this family did not cause serious human diseases in the past, and did not have important public health significance, Research has not received enough attention. The occurrence and epidemic of acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 caused significant losses and serious threats to human life and health as well as the entire public health safety. There is evidence that bats are possible storage hosts. Therefore, the question of the source of infection has become a hot spot in the field of virology, and at the same time, it has made people re-understand the harm of coronavirus. Coronavirus is excreted through respiratory secretions, transmitted through oral fluid, sneeze, and contact, and transmitted through air droplets. The peak of infection occurs in autumn, winter, and early spring. The virus is sensitive to heat. Ultraviolet rays, lysol water, 0.1% peroxyacetic acid, and 1% liaoline can kill the virus in a short time.

The report of the International Committee of Classification of Virology divided the Coronaviridae into four genera, namely, genera alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus NL63 belong to the alpha genus, human coronavirus OC43, human coronavirus HPU1, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) belong to the beta genus. Generally, the phylogenetic tree is constructed by multiple alignment of the whole genome sequence, and the classification can be determined. There is no report on which new coronavirus belongs to it.

Question 5: What is a coronavirus?


Xu Jianguo: Coronavirus is a type of pathogen that mainly causes respiratory and intestinal diseases. There are many regularly arranged protrusions on the surface of this type of virus particle, and the entire virus particle is like an emperor's crown, hence the name "coronavirus". In addition to humans, coronaviruses can infect many mammals such as pigs, cattle, cats, dogs, marten, camels, bats, mice, hedgehogs, and various birds. So far, there are six known human coronaviruses. Four of these coronaviruses are more common in the population and are less pathogenic, generally causing only minor respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold. The other two coronaviruses—Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, also known as SARS Coronavirus and MERS Coronavirus, can cause severe respiratory diseases. The new coronavirus that caused the epidemic is different from the human coronaviruses that have been discovered, and further understanding of the virus requires further scientific research.

This article expands: The entire genome of a coronavirus usually contains 7 open reading frames, with a spacer sequence between each two adjacent genes. The 5 'end is a non-coding region cap structure and the 3' end is a polyadenylic acid non-coding region. The 5 'end occupies about two-thirds of the entire genome. ORF1 (including ORF1a and 1b) is also known as the replicase gene, which is responsible for encoding more than 16 non-structural proteins related to viral replication; 4 open readings near the 3' end Box, which encodes S protein (spike protein), E protein (envelope protein), M protein (membrane protein), and N protein (nucleoprotein); there is also a non-structural protein NS3 between the S gene and the M gene. Coronaviruses can achieve "jump" from wild animals to human hosts by genetic recombination or mutation of the spinous protein (S) receptor binding region and cause diseases with high mortality, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Although both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are derived from bats, they do not directly infect humans, but achieve their cross-species transmission through intermediate hosts.

3.png


Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the coronavirus genome
According to the current public information and data, it is still in a "distributed" state. "Dissemination" refers to sporadic occurrences and is not a popular condition. The SARS epidemic that year lasted for about two and a half months from the first outbreak of November 16, 2002 to the end of January of the following year. Different viruses have different evolutionary paths, and it is difficult to predict whether or when the Wuhan Pneumonia Virus will appear as a "super spreader". This time the virus originated in the seafood market, we can assume that a possible transmission path is: waterfowl-fish and shrimp-human.​

Written by Li Jie, School of Biological and Food Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology

Editor-in-chief: Liu Yongxin Institute of Genetic Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences

http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-3334560-1213545.html
 
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/new-suspe...gapore-china-male-isolated-moh-102413784.html

Wuhan virus outbreak: New suspected case in Singapore, China male isolated
Staff Writer, Singapore Editorial Team
Yahoo News Singapore10 January 2020

SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old male Chinese national has been admitted for further assessment and treatment as part of precautions in light of a pneumonia outbreak in China, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (10 January).

The ministry said that it was notified of the case of pneumonia as of 10am.

The man, who had travelled to Wuhan, has been isolated as a precautionary measure and remains in stable condition, it added.

“The suspect case has not visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan,” the MOH said.

Investigations to establish whether the case is linked to the outbreak are ongoing.

Last Sunday, a three-year-old female Chinese national with pneumonia, who had also travelled to Wuhan, was similarly isolated as a precautionary measure...
 
Source: http://m.xinhuanet.com/hb/2020-01/10/c_1125447388.htm

Google translation:
Experts say that more patients with unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan can be controlled
2020-01-10 20:16:25 Source: Xinhuanet


Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, January 10th (Reporter Liao Jun, Li Changzheng) Hu Ke, an expert in the medical treatment team of unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan and a professor of respiratory medicine at the People's Hospital of Hubei Province, said on the 10th that most patients are mild to moderate . After treatment, the patient's condition can be controlled, and some of the patients who were initially admitted have been cured and discharged. Most of the other patients in the hospital are stable.

底 Since the end of December last year, Wuhan has confirmed multiple cases of unexplained viral pneumonia. As of January 5, a total of 59 cases have been confirmed. Some of these patients are operators of the South China Seafood Wholesale Market. On the 9th, Xu Jianguo, leader of the preliminary assessment of pathogen detection results and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained viral pneumonia case was initially determined as a new type of coronavirus.

Hu Ke said that the main clinical manifestations of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia are mostly fever, fatigue, cough, and low sputum. Some patients have symptoms such as dyspnea as the disease progresses. Laboratory tests showed that the total number of white blood cells was normal or decreased in the early stage of onset, the lymphocyte count decreased, and some patients had elevated liver and muscle enzyme levels. Chest imaging showed multiple ground glassy exudates in the lungs.

He said that by analyzing the collected data of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia, he found that the disease manifested as acute severe respiratory syndrome, mainly pneumonia. In the early stages of the disease, more than 90% have fever, about 80% have dry cough, more than 20% have chest tightness, about 20% have shortness of breath, and about 15% have dyspnea; about 80% of the cases have a normal or reduced white blood cell count, in all cases All had chest radiographic pneumonia. (Finish)
 
Shiloh said:
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/new-suspe...gapore-china-male-isolated-moh-102413784.html

Wuhan virus outbreak: New suspected case in Singapore, China male isolated
Staff Writer, Singapore Editorial Team
Yahoo News Singapore10 January 2020

SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old male Chinese national has been admitted for further assessment and treatment as part of precautions in light of a pneumonia outbreak in China, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (10 January).

The ministry said that it was notified of the case of pneumonia as of 10am.

The man, who had travelled to Wuhan, has been isolated as a precautionary measure and remains in stable condition, it added.

“The suspect case has not visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan,” the MOH said.

Investigations to establish whether the case is linked to the outbreak are ongoing.

Last Sunday, a three-year-old female Chinese national with pneumonia, who had also travelled to Wuhan, was similarly isolated as a precautionary measure...
Click to expand...

MoH statement -

[h=1]UPDATE ON LOCAL SITUATION REGARDING SEVERE PNEUMONIA CLUSTER IN WUHAN[/h]
[h=2]10TH JAN 2020[/h]
As of 10am, 10 January 2020, the Ministry of Health has been notified of a 26 year-old male Chinese national with pneumonia, who had travel history to Wuhan. He has been admitted for further assessment and treatment, and isolated as a precautionary measure. His condition is stable.


The suspect case has not visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan.


Investigations to establish whether the suspect case is linked to the Wuhan pneumonia cluster are ongoing.


https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlig...ding-severe-pneumonia-cluster-in-wuhan-10-jan
 
tetano said:
[h=1]Wuhan's unexplained viral pneumonia patients can be controlled[/h]

At the end of December 2019, a number of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia were confirmed in Wuhan. As of January 5, a total of 59 cases were confirmed. On January 9, 2020, the assessment expert group initially identified the unidentified pneumonia pathogen of Wuhan as a new coronavirus.

Hu Ke, an expert in the medical treatment team for unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan and a professor of respiratory medicine at the Hubei Provincial People's Hospital, said on January 10 that most patients are currently mild to moderate. After treatment, the patient's condition can be controlled, and some of the patients who were initially admitted have been cured and discharged. Most of the other patients in the hospital are stable.
Since the end of December 2019, Wuhan has confirmed a number of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia. As of January 5, 2020, a total of 59 cases have been confirmed. Some of these patients are operators of the South China Seafood Wholesale Market. On January 9, Xu Jianguo, the leader of the preliminary assessment of pathogen detection results and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the expert group believes that the pathogen of this unexplained viral pneumonia case was initially identified as a new type of coronavirus.
Hu Ke said that the main clinical manifestations of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia are mostly fever, fatigue, cough, and low sputum. Some patients have symptoms such as dyspnea as the disease progresses. Laboratory tests showed that the total number of white blood cells was normal or decreased in the early stage of onset, the lymphocyte count decreased, and some patients had elevated liver and muscle enzyme levels. Chest imaging showed multiple ground glassy exudates in the lungs.
He said that by analyzing the collected data of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia, he found that the disease manifested as acute severe respiratory syndrome, mainly pneumonia. In the early stages of the disease, more than 90% have fever, about 80% have dry cough, more than 20% have chest tightness, about 20% have shortness of breath, and about 15% have dyspnea; about 80% of the cases have a normal or reduced white blood cell count, in all cases All had chest radiographic pneumonia.



https://www.cn-healthcare.com/article/20200110/content-528579.html
Click to expand...

Also translated by:

Hayes Luk
@hayesluk
?
4h
According to Prof. Hu who is treating the Wuhan patient, he summarizes the symptom as follows 1. over 90% of patient has fever 2. ~80% has dry cough 3. ~20% has shortness of breath 4. ~ 15% has breathing difficulties
 
No new updates on the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission site about this outbreak since January 5.
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/list2nd/no/710

Nothing on the National Health Commission site.
http://www.nhc.gov.cn/

Is this one of those situations where the public is held in the dark because researchers are rushing to be the first one to publish a paper on an emerging disease?

Is the government hiding anything? Does anyone believe there is really no official news on this outbreak for 5 days?



FluTrackers.com
@FluTrackers
?
now
China - Can we have an update on the mystery pneumonia/coronavirus situation please? How many have now been screened? Hospitalized? Serious cases vs. mild? How many released & how many total contacts being followed?

Also - spread to new geographical areas?

Thanks!

The World.
 
Source: https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/cnnews/20200111/bkn-20200111070051796-0111_00952_001_cn.html

Google translation:
Wuhan pneumonia: Official confirmed 1 patient died, 7 were still seriously ill
January 11, 2020 07:00
The first death from pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus in Wuhan.
The outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus in Wuhan City, Hubei has attracted national attention. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission informed that as of 0:00 am on Saturday (11th), 41 cases of pneumonia were initially diagnosed with a new coronavirus infection, of which 2 have been discharged, 1 death and 7 severe cases. The remaining patients were in stable condition. This is the first official death confirmed by Wuhan pneumonia. As for the 739 people in close contact with the patients, they have all received medical observations, of which 419 were medical staff, and no related cases were found.
The report pointed out that after the preliminary determination of the "unknown viral pneumonia" pathogen as a new type of coronavirus, the national, provincial and municipal expert groups immediately revised and improved the pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, monitoring and other programs; Detection and completion of pathogenic nucleic acid detection. According to the patient's clinical manifestations, epidemiological history, and laboratory test results, experts corrected 41 cases of pneumonitis with new coronavirus infection, 18 fewer than the 59 previously reported.
The report emphasized that since last Friday (3rd), no new cases have been found in Wuhan, and no medical staff infection has been found, and there is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. Various departments in Wuhan have begun prevention and treatment work, including the full treatment of patients, in-depth epidemiological investigations, extensive publicity of disease prevention knowledge, cooperation with national and provincial etiological studies, and cooperation with the National Health Commission to notify the WHO of the epidemic information.
 
Government report:


Wuhan Municipal Health and Health Commission's Report on Unexplained Viral Pneumonia

Issuing authority: Wuhan City health committee | Published: 2020-01-11 07:04:11 | Hits: 3848 | Font Size: Da Zhong Small


After the pathogen of "unknown cause of viral pneumonia" was initially determined to be a new type of coronavirus, the national, provincial and municipal expert groups immediately revised and improved plans for diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of unexplained viral pneumonia. The Wuhan Municipal Health and Health Committee has organized tests on existing patient specimens. As of 14:00 on January 10, 2020, pathogenic nucleic acid testing has been completed. The national, provincial and municipal expert groups comprehensively judged the clinical manifestations, epidemiological history, and laboratory test results of patients admitted to the hospital for treatment, and 41 cases of pneumonia with a new coronavirus infection were initially diagnosed, of which 2 were discharged, Seven cases were severe and one died. The remaining patients were in stable condition. All 739 close contacts, including 419 medical staff, have undergone medical observation and no related cases have been found.

Since the outbreak, with the support of the state and Hubei Province, Wuhan has cooperated with relevant departments to carry out the prevention and treatment in an orderly manner. First, we have tried our best to treat patients. Develop a diagnosis and treatment work plan, and effectively achieve early detection, early diagnosis, early isolation, and early treatment, and focus on experts and resources to give full treatment. The second is to carry out in-depth epidemiological investigations. The investigation found that the patients were mainly operating and purchasing staff of the South China Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. On January 1, 2020, the South China Seafood Wholesale Market has been closed and measures have been taken to strengthen the prevention of disease and environmental hygiene in public places in the city, especially the farmers' market. management. The third is to widely publicize disease prevention knowledge and enhance public self-protection awareness. The fourth is to cooperate with the state and province to carry out pathogenic research. The fifth is to cooperate with the National Health and Health Commission to report the epidemic situation information to the World Health Organization in a timely manner.

No new cases have been detected since January 3, 2020. At present, no medical staff infections have been found, and no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission has been found. Our city will continue to strengthen patient treatment, epidemiological investigations, carry out in-depth patriotic health campaigns, do a good job in spreading knowledge of disease prevention, and safeguard the health of the people.

At present, it is in the season of high incidence of infectious diseases in winter and spring. The public must maintain indoor air circulation, try to avoid closed public places and crowded places, and wear masks if necessary. If you have fever, respiratory infection symptoms, especially persistent fever, go to a medical institution in time.





January 11, 2020


http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/sh.../2020011109035
 
Source: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202001/11/P2020011100233.htm

CHP provides latest information on cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan
**********************************************************


The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (January 11) received notification from the National Health Commission (NHC) on the latest information of the cluster of pneumonia cases detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The public is again urged to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.

After the preliminary determination that the pathogen of "viral pneumonia with unknown cause" is a novel coronavirus, the National and Provincial Expert Groups have immediately revised and improved the protocols on diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of viral pneumonia with unknown cause. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has arranged the samples of existing patients to be tested for nucleic acid of the pathogen, and the Expert Groups have made overall assessments on the patients hospitalised for observation and treatment, taking into considering of information on clinical picture, epidemiological information and laboratory testing results, etc. As at yesterday (January 10), 41 patients have been diagnosed to have infection of the novel coronavirus. Among them, two patients have been discharged, seven patients are in serious condition and one died, while the remaining patients are in stable condition. A total of 739 close contacts have been identified and 419 of them are healthcare workers. All have been put under medical surveillance, and no related cases have been detected so far. There have been no new cases since January 3. For the time being, the Mainland's investigation has neither identified any infection of healthcare workers nor definite evidence of human-to-human transmission.

According to information from the NHC, investigation, epidemiological investigations revealed that the patients are mainly business operators at a market called "Hua Nan Seafood Wholesale Market" in Wuhan, which has been closed since January 1.

The Port Health Division (PHD) under the CHP has strengthened port health measures and enhanced temperature screening of travellers with increased frequency of random checking at all boundary control points. Additional thermal imaging system has been put in place at the Hong Kong International Airport dedicated for temperature screening of travellers from flights arriving Hong Kong from Wuhan.

Moreover, additional manpower has been assigned to enhance temperature screening of inbound travelers when the daily two high speed trains with stop at Wuhan arrive at Hong Kong to ensure that body temperature of all passengers from these two trains are checked. Fever patients with acute respiratory symptoms who had visited Wuhan within 14 days prior to the onset of the illness will be immediately referred to public hospitals for isolation, treatment and follow-up.

The PHD has advised the MTR Corporation Limited, the Airport Authority Hong Kong, and relevant airlines to enhance cleaning and disinfection measures of the high speed trains and planes from Wuhan as well as the cleaning of West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and Airport Terminal Building. Moreover, dissemination of health messages through broadcast to travellers at e.g. flight cabin/West Kowloon Station, and distribution of leaflets, promulgating travel health news on website and posters display, has been enhanced. The PHD will continue to maintain close liaison with stakeholders of all boundary control points to timely update them about the latest situation and relevant measures.

A dedicated webpage (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102465.html) has been set up to provide relevant information and health advice. To address the public's concern, the CHP will announce the details of cases fulfilling the reporting criteria (www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/enhanced_sur_pneumonia_wuhan_eng.pdf) on the above webpage daily to enhance transparency...
 
Initial genome release of novel coronavirus

Novel 2019 coronavirus

h/t @arambaut
10th January 2020
This posting is communicated by Edward C. Holmes, University of Sydney on behalf of the consortium led by Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang, Fudan University, Shanghai​

The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & School of Public Health, in collaboration with the Central Hospital of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control, and the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia is releasing a coronavirus genome from a case of a respiratory disease from the Wuhan outbreak. The sequence has also been deposited on GenBank (accession MN908947) and will be released as soon as possible.

The sequence can be downloaded here:

WH-Human_1.fasta.gz (8.9 KB – this is a fasta file compressed using gzip. Uncompress using gzip -d WH-Human_1.fasta.gz)

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Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang,
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & School of Public Health,
Fudan University,
Shanghai, China.

email: zhangyongzhen@shphc.org.cn
 
S. Korea's 'pneumonia-like' illness case unrelated to China outbreaks: KCDC


South Korea's public safety and health agency on Saturday said that it has confirmed that the single "pneumonia-like" illness case reported earlier in the week is not related to the outbreaks in China.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it carried out a so-called pan-coronavirus test on the patient under quarantine and confirmed the illness was not caused by a new strain of the coronavirus that has made people sick in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200111000045
 
[h=1]Wuhan New Coronavirus Gene Map Exposes 73% Similar to SARS[/h]

Pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus in Wuhan, Xu Shuchang, chair professor of the Department of Respiratory Diseases of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that the new virus involved in Wuhan pneumonia belongs to the coronavirus 2B typing, and its gene sequence is 73% the same as that of SARS virus, and A close relative of the virus found in bats.



Professor Pan Liewen, a professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine, said that the virus is present in bats and has a degree of similarity to the genes of SARS virus. He said that after knowing the genetic sequence of the virus, a rapid epidemiological specific genetic sequence test can be performed to identify whether the patient is infected with the same new type of coronavirus. In terms of epidemic prevention and the use of resources to track the source of the disease, "Far away" when sequencing genes.



Yuan Guoyong, Chair Professor of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, said that an expert website issued the first Wuhan pneumonia gene map, and compared the gene ranking of its related map with other online rankings. The closest is the Zhoushan bat-like SARS coronavirus. Regardless of bats, humans, and civets, the virus similarity is nearly 80%. In general, the coronaviruses involved in Wuhan pneumonia this time are similar to bat-like SARS virus, but they are still a new, SARS-like coronavirus.



Yuan emphasized that the test method currently used is still valid. According to the test, all patients with suspected pneumonia symptoms after returning from Wuhan to Hong Kong were all negative, that is, they were not infected. He also pointed out that the characteristics of Wuhan pneumonia can be borrowed from SARS in 2003, but it is unpredictable, and because there are too few cases and data, it is difficult to calculate the mortality rate, but serious cases account for 20% of the total. Hong Kong still cannot be taken lightly. All defense mechanisms It is necessary to continue and even strengthen it in case of super spread.



Huang Jiaqing, director of the Center for Health Protection, said that some mainland scientists have placed the viral gene map of one of the patients in the gene bank. The center has contacted the National Health Construction Commission and has not yet received a report on the gene map.


https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/news/20200111/bkn-20200111134549200-0111_00822_001_cn.html
 
[h=1]Wuhan New Coronavirus Gene Sequence Announces High Similarity to SARS Virus[/h]
Xu Jianguo, the leader of the preliminary assessment of pathogenic test results and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, introduced that the virus was isolated from patient samples with positive results of the new coronavirus, and showed typical coronavirus morphology under electron microscope. "There are many regularly arranged protrusions on the surface of such virus particles. The entire virus particle is like an emperor's crown, hence the name 'Coronavirus'."

Just on January 11, the gene sequence of the new coronavirus in Wuhan was officially announced to the outside world. Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and School of Public Health, Wuhan Central Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the University of Sydney, Australia have released “Wuhan pneumonia” cases on the Virological website. Genome Sequence Information for a Novel Coronavirus

"Very busy," a Fudan University scholar who participated in the research told Caixin reporters that they have been busy these days and are working hard today.

Two days ago, in a report published in the official website of Science, scientists said that they hoped to learn more about the epidemiology and pathology of the pneumonia as soon as possible, and to find out the source of animal infection.

What information does the gene sequence show? Researchers everywhere are rushing to analyze.

Zhu Huachen, an associate professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, told Caixin reporter that by analyzing the above gene sequences, it can be initially determined that the similarity with the entire genome of SARS is around 80%, but the similarity between different gene segments is different, respectively. Between 60-90%. "It belongs to the same group as SARS (ie, the 2b group) and is a new type of" SARS-like "or" SARS-like "coronavirus," he said.

However, the expert from Hong Kong believes that this does not mean that the virus will be as dangerous as Sars virus, because there is still a considerable part of the gene sequence different from Sars virus, and "even Sars virus, there are mutant strains, the transmission of There is a big difference in strength. "

The term "coronavirus" is no stranger. The World Health Organization's WHO website shows that coronaviruses belong to a large family of viruses.

According to the website of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronaviruses (CoVs) belong to the Coronaviridae family, which includes 4 genera: Alpha Coronavirus (α-CoV), Beta Coronavirus (β-CoV), Gamma Coronavirus (γ- CoV), Delta Coronavirus (δ-CoV). So far, there are six known human coronaviruses. Two of these coronaviruses have high rates of infection and high mortality. The pathogens that caused SARS outbreaks in Guangdong, China in 2003, and MERS outbreaks in Saudi Arabia in 2012, were severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Coronaviruses (MERS-CoV), they are all beta coronaviruses. MERS symptoms usually include fever, cough and shortness of breath, and even progress to pneumonia, with a mortality rate of approximately 34.4%. Symptoms of SARS usually include fever, chills and physical pain, and even progress to pneumonia, with a mortality rate of approximately 9.6%.

The other four types of coronaviruses are α-CoV represented by 229E and NL9E, and β-CoV represented by OC43 and HPU1. These four human coronaviruses are more common and usually cause mild or moderate upper respiratory diseases such as a cold. Symptoms mainly include runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, etc., and sometimes cause lower respiratory diseases such as pneumonia or bronchitis. It is more common in patients with cardiopulmonary disease, immunocompromised people, infants and the elderly.

This family of viruses also causes some animal diseases. Coronavirus is widely distributed in a variety of hosts including birds and most mammals, including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and wild birds in poultry, pigs, cattle, dogs, cats, dromedaries, Rats and chrysanthemum bats, "it can be said that it is everywhere." Qin Yan, a researcher in PI, antibody engineering, vaccines and immunology at the Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

Coronaviruses that are prevalent in poultry and cause serious disease damage are the first infectious bronchitis virus (IBV); canine respiratory infection coronavirus (CRCoV), canine coronavirus (CCoV), and feline infections cause serious health hazards to dogs and cats Peritonitis virus (FIPV), feline coronavirus (FCoV); coronaviruses such as PEDV and TEGV that pose serious threats to the pig breeding industry. MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV / SARS-like CoV, which are prevalent in dromedaries and bats, do not cause disease burden on the host, but cause severe respiratory diseases in humans after transmission across species.

According to WHO, the new coronavirus is a special strain of coronavirus that has not been previously found in humans. Information on the spread, severity and clinical impact of the virus is limited, with only a few case reports currently available


http://www.caixin.com/2020-01-11/101503258.html
 
Experts explain the latest bulletin of unknown cause of viral pneumonia
Issuing authority: Wuhan City health committee | Published: 2020-01-11 09:20:07 | Hits: 9342 | Font Size: Da Zhong Small
Q: How was this outbreak diagnosed?

Answer: Based on the patient's clinical manifestations, epidemiological history, and pathogenic test results, comprehensive research and judgment.



Q: What are the characteristics of the clinical manifestations of this outbreak?

A: The clinical manifestations are systemic symptoms such as fever and fatigue, accompanied by dry cough, and dyspnea in hospitalized patients is more common. Vital signs were generally stable at the time of admission.



Q: There is currently one death case. What is the specific situation?

A: The patient was a 61-year-old male. He was admitted to the hospital due to respiratory failure and severe pneumonia. He also had abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease. The patient purchases goods from Wuhan South China Seafood Market all year round. After admission to the hospital, symptomatic support, anti-infection, ventilator-assisted breathing, continuous ECMO in vitro life support, and other treatments did not improve his symptoms. On the evening of January 9, 2020, his heartbeat stopped and he died after rescue. Etiological results suggest that the new coronavirus is positive for nucleic acid. The deaths were diagnosed as severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (severe), septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe acid-base metabolism disorders, and cirrhosis. The immediate cause of death was respiratory circulation failure.



Q: What does it mean that the report says "no new cases have been detected since January 3, 2020"?

Answer: According to epidemiological surveys by national, provincial and municipal experts, the incidence of unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan this time was between December 8, 2019 and January 2, 2020. Since January 3, 2020, clinical and epidemiological investigations have shown no patients with new infections.



Q: How to understand "No clear evidence of human-to-human transmission"?

A: According to epidemiological surveys by national, provincial and municipal experts, most of the unexplained viral pneumonia cases in Wuhan this time have a history of exposure to the South China seafood market, and no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission has been found. We are further conducting epidemiological investigations and related laboratory tests. In addition, all close contacts, including medical staff, have so far not detected any related cases.



Link to original report: http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/sh.../2020011109035

http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/sh.../2020011109036
 
World Health Organization Western Pacific

@WHOWPRO
On January 11, Chinese authorities reported to
@WHO
that, with use of the genomic test kit, the number of cases affected by the new coronavirus in #Wuhan, #China was narrowed from the previous 59 suspected cases to 41 cases. (1/3)
1:21 AM ? Jan 11, 2020?Twitter for iPhone

World Health Organization Western Pacific

@WHOWPRO
?
7h
Replying to
@WHOWPRO
Of these, 7 patients are reported to have severe illness, 2 people have been discharged, and sadly 1 person (with other underlying health conditions) has died. All other patients are reported to be in stable condition. (2/3)World Health Organization Western Pacific

@WHOWPRO
?
7h
.
@WHO
will release an updated Disease Outbreak News with further details as soon as possible. (3/3)
 
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