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| Credit WHO Thailand |
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We've more confirmatory reports this morning from the World Health Organization on the first confirmed 2019 novel coronavirus case detected outside of Mainland China. The infected traveler, a Chinese National, arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport (Bangkok) on January 8th with a fever, and was subsequently hospitalized.
While this traveler is said to have recently arrived from Wuhan, China (pop. 11 million) - the site of the initial outbreak - it hasn't been made clear whether this person had any direct contact with the Seafood Market believed to have been the local source of the outbreak.Now that the ability to test for this novel coronavirus has become available, we stand to learn a great deal more in the days ahead.
Thailand responding to the novel coronavirus
13 January 2020
News release
Current situation:
On January 13, 2020, The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand reported an imported case of infection caused by the novel coronavirus recently identified in Wuhan, China. The concerned individual is a Chinese national who was found to have fever on arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport on 8th January. A clinical diagnosis of mild pneumonia was made after referral to a government hospital. Laboratory testing subsequently confirmed that the novel coronavirus was the cause.
WHO acknowledges the capacity of Thailand’s laboratories to do the complex genetic analyses necessary to confirm the diagnosis.
Background:
Since early December, a number of cases of pneumonia have been detected in persons from Wuhan city in China. Chinese authorities identified a new coronavirus as the agent causing these cases.
Coronaviruses are common - many cause less severe illness such as the common cold; other are known to cause more severe illness (SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS). Chinese scientists have sequenced and made available the genetic material of this virus – a remarkable achievement in such a short time. This will be critical to helping public health authorities around the world understand this illness and track it.
The way these patients became infected is not yet known. To date, there has been no suggestion of human to human transmission of this new coronavirus. There have been no infections reported among health care workers, which can be an early indicator of person to person spread.
At present, WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travelers in relation to this event. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information available. If travelers develop respiratory illness before, during or after travel, they should seek medical attention and share travel history with their health care provider.
The World Health Organization is working with Thailand and other countries to track further understand infections caused by this new coronavirus and to ensure that they are prevented and controlled. This includes,
Providing all countries with a technical package of interim guidance, including
Common case definitions to ensure patients are identified quickly;
In the longer term, using the International Health Regulations to develop and strengthen the capacities of countries to detect and respond to infections like the new coronavirus.
- Information on laboratory methodologies to identify this and other respiratory viruses,
- Guidance on how to protect health care workers and others;
- Guidance on clinical management is being quickly reviewed by global experts and will be shared once available.
- Facilitating information sharing on this and other relevant health events between countries
Please see the following websites for more information...
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruseshttps://twitter.com/whowpro?lang=enhttps://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
