The corona virus spreads rapidly and claims more and more deaths. A virus expert is now warning of the spread of lung disease in Germany.
- The corona virus is spreading - the origin is in Wuhan, China.
- The pathogen is called “2019-nCoV” .
- A virus expert now warns of cases in Germany.
Due to the spread of the novel corona virus in parts of Asia, an expert from the Berlin Charité is also anticipating cases in this country. "We have to count on getting cases to Germany and we have to prepare for it in the entire healthcare system," said virologist Christian Drosten on Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday.
According to the Chinese health authorities, the novel corona virus first appeared in a fish and poultry market in the metropolis of Wuhan in December. There are also by far the majority of the approximately 220 people registered in China.
Individual further cases have been reported from Beijing, Shanghai and the neighboring countries of Thailand, Japan and South Korea. One suspected case is examined in Australia and one in the Philippines. All infected and suspected cases abroad had previously been in Wuhan. No case is known in Europe so far. A total of 291 infections have been detected since December. Six people died from the virus ( as of Tuesday, January 21, 12.40 p.m. ). At Munich Airport there is the Infectiology Task Force, which is supposed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Germany.
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The number of unrecognized infections is currently unclear. There is no information from China. Experts from Imperial College London expect the new disease to be much more widespread than previously known. According to their projections , there could already be more than 1,700 infected people ( as of Tuesday, January 21 at 12.40 p.m. ) "Such estimates are always subject to great uncertainties," said Drosten. "But basically I believe in these numbers."
The hospitals in Germany should now think about the treatment of such patients, some of whom have to be isolated or admitted to intensive care units, where treatment places are always scarce anyway, the expert continues. The Berlin Charité had already "started up all test systems" in order to be able to quickly detect an infection with the new corona virus if necessary.
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Health officials should take the novel virus "very seriously," the virologist warned. "The whole picture is now more like the then Sars epidemic in 2003." At the time, almost 780 people died of the lung disease, which was also caused by a corona virus; most in Hong Kong and China.
In the meantime it is probably only in animals. Fortunately, the virus was not as easily transmitted as seasonal flu, experts said later. Sars stands for "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome". The human-to-human transferability that has now been proven for the new virus makes it "more dangerous".
"It is the same type of virus, only in a different variant," said the Berlin Charité virologist. The main differences are in the proteins with which the virus docks onto human cells.
Corona virus in China: wave of travel favors spread - expert sees Germany well armed
In general, however, Drosten Germany sees itself well armed. In Germany there are "very good structures" to avoid epidemics. This includes a national pandemic plan and very good coordination of protection and control measures by the Robert Koch Institute, according to the virus expert on Deutschlandfunk. "I also don't think that as a citizen you have to worry about your own health," he added.
With the current wave of travel to the Chinese New Year next Saturday, the risk of transmission of the virus increases. The largest annual migration of peoples in the Middle Kingdom involves several hundred million people. Neighboring Asian countries and some airports in other countries around the world have now introduced fever controls or other protective measures on entry from Wuhan due to the new lung disease.
Coronavirus: how it is transmitted - vaccination and treatment possible?
The virus has so far been called “2019-nCoV” by the World Health Organization WHO and, like Sars and the occasional Mers in the Middle East, belongs to the family of coronaviruses. It affects the upper and lower respiratory tract. The previous patients come from almost all age groups, women and men are affected approximately equally often. Many normal colds are also caused by coronaviruses. However, these are of a different type and usually only affect the upper respiratory tract.
According to current knowledge, the virus causes fever and symptoms of pneumonia, explained the virus researcher Drosten. "The upper respiratory tract is hardly affected, for example there is no runny nose." An organism gets from lung to lung more difficult than with the droplets when sneezing.
There is no protective vaccination or special therapy to treat the infection, only the symptoms can be alleviated with medication. You can still protect yourself. According to Christian Drosten, a virus researcher from Berlin, analyzes of the genome have shown that it is a Sars virus variant.
In Australia, researchers have made a breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus: the scientists took the virus from an infected patient and successfully bred it.
Coronavirus: WHO convenes emergency committee - is health emergency declared?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened its emergency committee because of the lung disease. The experts will be advised on Wednesday. If WHO declares an international health emergency, it recommends stricter measures to combat the disease.
BREAKING: WHO Director-General @DrTedros will convene an Emergency Committee on the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations.
The Committee will meet on Wednesday, 22 January 2020. pic.twitter.com/w3w7ZuoTeG
These may include border controls and the establishment of specialized treatment centers. No travel or trade restrictions are currently recommended by the WHO. However, there are notes on generally applicable hygiene and behavior rules for travelers to Wuhan in China.
According to the Ministry of Health, there has been a suspected case of the corona virus in Bavaria. The person concerned was probably at Munich Airport.
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sh / dpa / AFP
Rubric list picture: © dpa / Eugene Hoshiko
