Several carriers of a deadly new virus that appeared in China in late December have one thing in common. They passed through the city of Wuhan. This agglomeration of eleven million inhabitants is suspected of being the center of contamination of the coronavirus which led to the death of three people and caused pneumonia in more than 200 others.
Chinese authorities have launched decontamination operations in a market specializing in the wholesale of seafood and fish.
This incriminated strain can cause mild illnesses in humans (like a cold) but also others more serious like Sras. Highly contagious, this virus killed some 650 people in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
The Chinese New Year is fast approaching and crystallizes concerns with the millions of inhabitants who are likely to move en masse for the festivities. For the moment, there is no evidence that this virus is transmissible by humans. Chinese authorities have not confirmed any human-to-human contamination.
