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It's been about six hours since the news broke about an unidentified `viral pneumonia' outbreak in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei Province (see China: 27 Cases of `Atypical Viral Pneumonia' Reported In Wuhan, Hubei), and while the media and twitter are full of reports, official statements have been hard to find.
After several attempts I was finally able to access the Hubei Provincial Health Committee's website and translate their official statement.While it doesn't tell us any more than we already knew, it at least has the advantage of being an `official' statement. The facts remain essentially the same; 27 cases, 7 in serious condition. All isolated. And the identify of the viral pathogen yet to be determined.
Municipal Health and Health Commission's briefing on the current pneumonia epidemic situation in our city
Recently, some medical institutions found that many of the pneumonia cases received were related to South China Seafood City. After receiving the report, the Municipal Health and Health Commission immediately launched a case search and retrospective investigation related to South China Seafood City in the city's medical and health institutions. Twenty-seven cases have been found, of which 7 are in serious condition, and the remaining cases are stable and controllable. Two patients are expected to be discharged in the near future.
The clinical manifestations of the cases were mainly fever, a few patients had difficulty breathing, and chest radiographs showed bilateral lung infiltrative lesions. At present, all cases have been isolated for treatment, follow-up investigations and medical observations of close contacts are ongoing, and hygiene investigations and environmental sanitation disposals for South China Seafood City are ongoing.
Wuhan organized consultations with clinical medical, epidemiological, and virological experts from Tongji Hospital, Provincial CDC, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Infectious Diseases Hospital, and Wuhan CDC. According to the analysis of epidemiological investigations and preliminary laboratory tests, the above cases are considered to be viral pneumonia. Investigations so far have not revealed any apparent human-to-human transmission or infection by medical staff. Detection of the pathogen and investigation of the cause of the infection are ongoing.
Viral pneumonia is more common in winter and spring, and can be spread or outbreak. The clinical manifestations are fever, soreness, dyspnea in a small part, and lung infiltration. Viral pneumonia is related to the virulence of the virus, the route of infection, and the age and immune status of the host. Viruses that cause viral pneumonia are common with influenza viruses, others are parainfluenza virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, rhinovirus, and coronavirus. Confirmation depends on pathogenic tests, including virus isolation, serological tests, and viral antigen and nucleic acid tests. The disease is preventable and controllable, and indoor air circulation can be prevented to prevent closed and airless public places and crowded places. Masks can be worn when going out. Symptomatic treatment is the main clinical practice, and bed rest is required. If you have the above symptoms, especially the persistent fever, you should go to the medical institution in time. (Wuhan Municipal Health Committee)
My thanks once again to the newshounds of FluTrackers (and a 0030 hrs Alert from Sharon Sanders) for a head's up on this story. You'll find the FT thread China - 27 viral pneumonia / suspected SARS? cases in Wuhan, Hubei province - December 31, 2019, already has a half dozen reports.