Coronavirus – Credit CDC PHIL
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The HPA has published an update on the family cluster of novel coronavirus that infected three people, and has resulted in one death.
As this update, and the one from the ECDC earlier today indicate, there are many things we do not know about where this virus comes from, how it is transmitted, and ultimately what risks it may pose.
For now, we’ve seen no evidence of sustained or ongoing community transmission of this virus. Contact tracing of roughly two hundred people with possible exposure has – to date – only revealed a dozen confirmed infections.
The recent detection of a `mild’ case does raise some concerns that current surveillance techniques might not be sensitive enough to pick up all those infected.
Nevertheless, the threat of this novel coronavirus to the general public is still considered low.
Update on family cluster of novel coronavirus infection in the UK
19 February 2013
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) continues its investigations into a family cluster of novel coronavirus infections in the UK. Three members of the same family have all tested positive for novel coronavirus. Two of these had no history of recent travel suggesting that transmission has occurred in the UK.
One person has sadly died. This patient had an underlying condition that may have made them more susceptible to respiratory infections. The first patient in this cluster, who had recent travel history to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, is still receiving treatment. The third case, who had a mild illness, has recovered.
Since September 2012, when an earlier case was diagnosed in the UK, there have been a total of 12 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus reported globally, with six deaths. Intensive work has been carried out in the UK to identify contacts of the UK cases. In total the HPA has identified and followed up more than 100 people who had close contact with the cases in this recent family cluster. Besides the identified secondary cases, all tests carried out on contacts to date have been negative for the novel coronavirus infection.
Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, said: "The routes of transmission to humans of the novel coronavirus have not yet been fully determined, but the recent UK experience provides strong evidence of human-to-human transmission in at least some circumstances.
“The three recent cases in the UK represent an important opportunity to obtain more information about the characteristics of this infection in humans and risk factors for its acquisition, particularly in the light of the first ever recorded instance of apparently lower severity of illness in one of the cases.
“The risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low and the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains very low. The HPA will continue to work closely with national and international health authorities and will share any further advice with health professionals and the public if and when more information becomes available."
