A special team of doctors from Capital Hospital conducted screening of passengers arriving from Kuala Lumpur at Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Monday. Coronavirus, which has affected 2700 people in China and claimed 80 lives so far, has seen no positive case in India so far. However, authorities have kept around 100 people under observation in Kerala and Maharashtra.
Symptoms of Coronavirus
Coronaviruses cause mild respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose, along with shortness of breath. The symptoms set in between two days to two weeks after exposure to the virus.
Origin of Coronavirus
The World Health Organization suspects that the source of the virus is a food market in Wuhan, China. It resembles viruses that infect bats and snakes according to one research. The virus could have been secreted in the animals’ faeces, and become aerosolised and breathed in, some researchers speculate.
The virus is spreading internationally. Cases have reportedly been confirmed in Thailand, Japan, US, Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea so far.
How deadly is it?
17 deaths have been linked to the virus so far. This gives it a low fatality rate of 4 per cent. “Most people feel this is somewhere on a spectrum between a relatively mild infection and SARS, which had a very high case-fatality rate,” says Mark Woolhouse at the University of Edinburgh, UK. However, it is too soon to be certain, say scientists, as the virus could mutate and become more dangerous.
