Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Second Death From Pneumonia-Like Illness In China Confirmed As Public Health Officials Tensely Watch Outbreak
Reuters: China Says Second Person Dies In Wuhan Pneumonia Outbreak
A second person has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan following an outbreak believed to be caused by a new coronavirus strain, local health authorities said. The 69-year-old man had been admitted to hospital with abnormal renal function and severe damage to multiple organs, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website late on Thursday. He died on Jan. 15. (1/17)
Stat: Novel Virus Tied To Chinese Outbreak Found In Japan, As 2nd Death Reported
So far, health authorities have not concluded that the virus can be spread among people, but they have been racing to learn more since the pneumonia cases started appearing in Wuhan, a city 700 miles south of Beijing, last month. They say, however, that if human transmission is possible, it appears to be rare. In Wuhan, where 41 cases have been confirmed, health authorities have been tracking 763 close contacts of the patients, including more than 400 health workers, and have not identified any related cases of the infection. (Joseph, 1/16)
The Associated Press: China Reports 2nd Death From Virus Behind Pneumonia Outbreak
Most of the coronavirus patients this time either worked at or visited a particular seafood market in Wuhan. The market has since been shut down for investigation and disinfection. Two patients in Thailand and another in Japan have been diagnosed with the virus.A 74-year-old tourist was intercepted at a Thai airport on Jan. 13 with symptoms of lung infection, the country’s public health ministry said Friday. She is being treated in the same hospital, east of Bangkok, as a Chinese woman who was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country last week. (Wang, 1/16)
CNN: Coronavirus: Second Death From SARS-Like Illness In Wuhan, China
Thailand confirmed its second case of the new coronavirus on Thursday -- the third case in total found outside of China. The virus was also confirmed Thursday to have been detected in Japan. In all three cases, the infected people had traveled to Wuhan. In Wuhan, the first, and the majority, of the infected patients have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down for disinfection since January 1. Wuhan health authorities said on Wednesday that some "environmental samples" taken from the market tested positive for the virus. (Regan and Gan, 1/17)
Bloomberg: Outbreak Of SARS-Like Virus Widens With First Case In Japan
“Cases like the ones who traveled to Thailand and Japan after being exposed in Wuhan are not unexpected,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said in an email. “But public health officials are still laser-focused on whether any of the cases residing in China or now somewhere else in the world will turn out to be ‘super shedders’ and potentially infect many contacts.” (Gale and Jackman, 1/15)
