by Laurent Thomet with Dario Thuburn in Geneva BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said it was halting flights and trains from Thursday out of Wuhan, the city of 11 million people at the center of a deadly SARS-like virus outbreak, as the UN extended emergency talks on the disease. The central city’s special command center against the virus also said that residents should not leave without a special reason and that the measures would be […]
Tag: health
China warns virus could mutate, spread as death toll rises
by Beiyi SEOW Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — A new virus that has killed nine people, infected hundreds and already reached the United States could mutate and spread, China warned Wednesday, as authorities scrambled to contain the disease during the Lunar New Year travel season. The coronavirus has caused alarm for its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. In Wuhan, […]
S. Korea confirms first case of SARS-like virus from China
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Monday confirmed its first case of the SARS-like virus that is spreading in China, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak. A 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew in from Wuhan, the apparent epicenter of the outbreak, was confirmed to have the new coronavirus strain, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. She went to the hospital in Wuhan on Saturday with symptoms of a […]
UPDATED: China reports SARS-like virus spreads across country, nearly 140 new cases
BEIJING, China (AFP) — BEIJING, China (AFP) –China on Monday reported a mysterious SARS-like virus had spread across the country, including to Beijing, raising concerns as millions begin trips for the Lunar New Year. A third person was confirmed to have died, authorities said, as nearly 140 cases were announced. The new coronavirus strain has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and […]
Experts warn over scale of China virus as US airports start screening
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The true scale of the outbreak of a mysterious SARS-like virus in China is likely far bigger than officially reported, scientists have warned, as countries ramp up measures to prevent the disease from spreading. Fears that the virus will spread are growing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of Chinese move around the country and many others host or visit extended family members living overseas. […]
Thais find second case linked to China mystery virus
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand detected its second case of a mysterious SARS-linked virus in a visitor from China, health officials said Friday, as authorities ramp up airport screenings ahead of an expected surge in arrivals for Chinese New Year. The 74-year-old Chinese woman is being treated at hospital after presenting with symptoms at Thailand’s biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13, according to the health ministry. She was diagnosed with pneumonia linked to the […]
Second person dies from mystery virus in China: official
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A second person has died in China from a mystery virus that has stricken dozens and appeared in two other Asian countries, officials said. Local authorities said a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city believed to be the epicenter of an outbreak of a coronavirus from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen. The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS (Severe […]
Mystery China virus patients could have infected family members: officials
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen could have been spread between family members in the Chinese city of Wuhan, local authorities said Wednesday. The outbreak, which has killed one person, has caused alarm because of the link with SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003. One of the 41 patients reported in […]
Japan reports case of mystery virus behind China outbreak
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A case of the mystery respiratory infection related to the potentially deadly SARS virus, which first emerged in China, has been confirmed in Japan, authorities said Thursday. It appears to be only the second time the novel coronavirus has been detected outside China after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a case in Thailand. Japan’s health ministry said a man who had visited Wuhan, the apparent epicenter of the outbreak, was […]
First case of mystery SARS-like virus found outside China
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS disease has spread beyond China’s borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand, UN and Thai officials said on Monday. Thai doctors diagnosed with a Chinese traveler with mild pneumonia on January 8 later confirmed to have been caused by the so-called novel coronavirus — which has already given rise to 41 pneumonia-like […]
China reports first death from mystery pneumonia outbreak
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Health authorities in central China reported the first death on Saturday from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has been blamed on a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS. Out of 41 people diagnosed with the new type of coronavirus in the city of Wuhan where it was first confirmed, one had died, two were discharged from treatment, and seven remained in serious condition, the Wuhan Municipal Health […]
New virus behind China’s mystery pneumonia outbreak: state media
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has struck 59 people is due to a new strain of virus from the family of pathogens that includes SARS, state media said Thursday. The infection was first confirmed on December 31 in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million, and initially sparked fears about a resurgence of the highly contagious flu-like SARS. Experts have “preliminarily determined” that a […]





