Merged 2019-nCoV / Corona virus

[Giordano]

That is, a vast amount of hype? There were less than ten thousand SARS infections and under eight hundred deaths. Measles killed six thousand in the Congo.

That is a very high death rate even if it does not compare to some of the most deadly viruses. Measles (a paramyxovirus) has long been established as a particularly nasty virus. Nipah and Hendra viruses are also very deadly paramyxoviruses, with mortality rates over 70%.

I don't think we yet know accurately the lethality of 2019-nCoV.

 

[Venom]

....Apparently they have a super immune system that is always turned up to 11. In Australia they have spread a disease via horses to vets who go to treat the sick horse. The Hendra virus has a 100% fatality rate.

None of this appears to be true, save for transmission from bats, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[Arcade22]

According to Swedish tabloids the feared Death Virus has now reached American shores at Seattle, Washington where a hospitalized patient with pneumonia was tested positive. They had recently been in Wuhan, where they presumably contracted the infection.

Prepare yourself.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But SARS could potentially have been much worse if it's spread hadn't been controlled. It seems to me that people were right to be alarmed enough to take action. The fact that they were successful doesn't suggest that they weren't right.

There's nothing wrong with being alarmed. It's a novel coronavirus and that means the population likely has no immunity against the virus. It's very likely to spread through populations like the Aussie bushfires. And we probably will fail at stopping it for the very reason were were successful stopping SARS. There will be mild cases and they will slip through the cracks.

As I mentioned, we stopped SARS because every case was severe, every case was visible.

Most third world countries have little to no public infrastructure. They won't be able to stop it.

The one good thing about this virus so far is the fatality rate is very low. The 4th fatality was a man in his 80s with other health problems. The preexisting health issues of the first three fatalities wasn't known yesterday though obviously someone knows.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

That is a very high death rate even if it does not compare to some of the most deadly viruses. Measles (a paramyxovirus) has long been established as a particularly nasty virus. Nipah and Hendra viruses are also very deadly paramyxoviruses, with mortality rates over 70%.

I don't think we yet know accurately the lethality of 2019-nCoV.

SARS not only had an extremely high death rate, it threatened to overwhelm the health care capacity. We didn't have enough ventilators, a nightmare.


As for not knowing the fatality rate yet, that's true to some extent, but we have a reasonably good idea it's nothing like SARS or the 1917-1918 influenza pandemic.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

According to Swedish tabloids the feared Death Virus has now reached American shores at Seattle, Washington where a hospitalized patient with pneumonia was tested positive. They had recently been in Wuhan, where they presumably contracted the infection.

Prepare yourself.

That person isolated himself because he knew he had come from Wuhan and suspected he had contracted it. He is currently in isolation in the hospital. It will be an interesting test to see if it is contained.

Though I suspect it will eventually spread here.

 

[Dr.Sid]

Time to order some stuff from China.

 

[arthwollipot]

I was going to go with a humorous title, as I did with the famous "MERS Attacks" thread, but used the scientific name of the virus instead, which seems appropriate in the science & medicine section.

How the hell is that vague?

As it happens, I agree with you that it is an appropriate title. But for people who hadn't encountered a particular piece of information, "2019-nCoV" is a more or less meaningless collection of characters. I think the combined title is clearer though.

 

[The Atheist]

Clearer, but wrong.

It's a coronavirus, not a corona virus and definitely not a Corona virus.

The beer jokes are driving me nuts.

 

[rjh01]

Clearer, but wrong.

It's a coronavirus, not a corona virus and definitely not a Corona virus.

The beer jokes are driving me nuts.

Then I suggest you report your own OP and ask that they remove the space before the word virus. And any other changes to make the title of this thread correct.

Because you are right, that space should not exist. Ditto to anything else that needs amending.

 

[Ziggurat]

Great. I've got to travel to China in a few weeks. Not looking forward to that.

 

[Myriad]

The beer jokes are driving me nuts.

I was considering making a typewriter joke instead. Would that be better?

 

[catsmate]

But SARS could potentially have been much worse if it's spread hadn't been controlled. It seems to me that people were right to be alarmed enough to take action. The fact that they were successful doesn't suggest that they weren't right.

The same is true of most diseases.

1 - the death total is already six, and that's a whole week after the story broke. It does appear to be a less deadly coronavirus than MERS or SARS, but it's still far too early to say with any certainty where this will end up.

Seventeen actually. I'm reminded of the last EVD panic.

2 - pretty sure there's a good vaccine for measles.

And yet stupid people still don't vaccinate themselves and their children against it.

 

[The Atheist]

Then I suggest you report your own OP ...

It's not mine. I'm quite happy with the part I had up.

I was considering making a typewriter joke instead. Would that be better?

Wow, old school! Yes, they'd be much more preferable.

___________________________________


Now presumed to be 4000 infections and total deaths almost certainly under-estimated at the 17 official count: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51202000

And NZ still not screening.

At least rate of infection tends to indicate it's not hugely contagious, but WHO will be making an announcement within the next couple of hours.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Then I suggest you report your own OP and ask that they remove the space before the word virus. And any other changes to make the title of this thread correct.

Because you are right, that space should not exist. Ditto to anything else that needs amending.

TBF, that wasn't his title, it came from the merged thread.

 

[rjh01]

TBF, that wasn't his title, it came from the merged thread.

Irrelevant. He has the first post in the thread. He either reports it and asks for whatever changes to the title he wants or he is complaining about stuff that he can fix, yet refusing to fix.

 

[William Parcher]

Public transportation will be suspended in Wuhan starting tomorrow, according to an announcement from the city's coronavirus command center.

All city transportation will halt, including local buses, ferries, long-distance buses and subways. Wuhan's airport and railway stations will be “temporarily closed” for departing passengers.

When these services will re-open remains to be determined...

https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/wuhan-coronavirus-china-intl-hnk/index.html

 

[Venom]

The Journal of Medical Virology has a paper out today that suggests that snakes are the natural reservoir of the novel coronavirus.

I can't access the full article through my school login.

 

[The Atheist]

... he is complaining about stuff that he can fix, yet refusing to fix.

Can you point to a complaint, please.

I said it was wrong.

Stick to the facts, mate.

https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/wuhan-coronavirus-china-intl-hnk/index.html

Too late - if it's even reasonably contagious, that cat is well and truly out of the bag.

The Journal of Medical Virology has a paper out today that suggests that snakes are the natural reservoir of the novel coronavirus.

I can't access the full article through my school login.

That's it, no more eating snake for me.

Here's an open source link for that story: https://www.scientificamerican.com/...rce-of-the-new-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china/

The WHO has made no decision to call an emergency, mainly through lack of data, so they're getting more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/health/corona-virus-china.html

 

[William Parcher]

Daily Mail reports that Chinese authorities are focusing on a snake seller at a local market.