Coronavirus first detected in France

Coronavirus discovered in France: Every second person infected with coronavirus (nCoV) has died. The infectious disease has already reached Germany. Most infections are currently occurring in the Arabian Peninsula.

10/05/2013

Patients who have been infected with new coronavirus suffer severe respiratory distress. So far there is no adequate means to stop the virus. For this reason, every second patient has died of the virus infection. Currently, a man in France is ill.

New case of infection in Paris
As the French Ministry of Health announced in Paris, will „the patient is treated isolated in the intensive care unit. Not long ago, the man returned from a trip from Saudi Arabia. This is the only and confirmed case in France until today“. The person concerned is 65 years old, said a spokesman for the ministry. The viral respiratory infection was „diagnosed by the Pasteur Institute“, said experts from the Ministry of Health. The virus comes from the same pathogen group to which the Sars virus, the coronavirus, is also categorized. In 2003, Sars virus infected about 8,000 people. A good 10 percent, ie 800 infected people died as a result of the disease.

Nearly all 30 coronary-infected patients so far registered by the World Health Organization, „most likely stuck on the Arabian Peninsula“. Because all patients were there only a short time before the onset of the disease.

High death rate after infections
How dangerous the virus is, show the death rates. According to the WHO, 18 out of 30 patients already died from respiratory symptoms. The first case occurred in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Even a man from Munich, in which the virus infection broke out in March 2013, came from the region.

Researchers and physicians were able to find out a few key findings about the virus. For example, it is already clear that the pathogen can easily pass from one mammal or human to another. It is very likely that the scientists believe that the infectious disease first appeared in bats. After spreading, the virus has then passed to humans. It has also been observed that the virus can also be transmitted back from humans to bats and even mammals.

Transmission path severely restricted
Unlike the Sars virus, the coronaviruses can penetrate the cells of the lungs into the entire human body. This creates a certain relief among experts, because influenza virus epidemiologists know that this infection pathway means that the pathogens are less likely to be transmitted from human to human.

Viruses are classified in their dangerousness. One criterion is whether the influenza viruses climb the upper respiratory tract as an entry site and thus must be transmitted via a droplet or penetrate through the lungs. The second way is much more difficult, which is why the risk of infection is less strong. The new coronavirus therefore has a lower risk of infection than previously assumed. This is also shown by the fact that so far only a single person affected by a human-to-human infection was infected. The patient from Britain got the virus from his son. „Apparently only through a very close contact, a human-to-human infection can take place“, a WHO spokesman said last week.

No need to panic, yet further research needed
Nevertheless, health authorities and doctors are worried. It may be that the virus changes again quickly. One possible scenario is that the viruses adapt to spread faster, making human-to-human transmission easier. But it can also happen just the opposite and the virus is harmless. For a panic, there is currently no reason, but the case numbers are too low. First symptoms of the infection are similar to the flu: Patients suffer from fever and chills as well as severe respiratory complaints. (Sb)