The Wuhan coronavirus was unknown prior to its outbreak early this year. This is a respiratory illness that was first reported in China in Hubei province. The outbreak started sometime in December 2019 but the identification was done in January by the Chinese health officials.
The covid-19, as it is referred to, causes respiratory infections with the severity of the symptoms differing from one person to the next. The disease can be mild in some cases, but there are many severe cases reported and over 1300 fatalities so far.
The greatest number of those already infected are persons who have been to the city of Wuhan. This city has around 11 million inhabitants ad it is located in central China. The infection was linked to a seafood market in the city and this is what indicated that the origin was from animals.
This disease is easily transmitted from one person to the next. Health professionals have also been infected and people who have had close contact with patients. More reports keep on streaming in from different cities in China and other countries outside China as well. The countries around China are being monitored closely as well.
The WHO and the ECDC websites are making regular updates regarding the coronavirus as the news emerges. However, the information they are relying on is what the Chinese officials are giving. The outbreak has since been declared by the WHO as a public health emergency. This declaration was not intended to cause panic but rather to strengthen the efforts that nations were exerting to ensure that the disease stays contained and does not spread any further.
