Confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, April to 5 December 2012

Table. Confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, April to 5 December 2012, in temporal order of
symptom onset
Onset Age
(years)
Sex Probable place of
infection
Date
reported
Source Outcome
1 April 2012 45 F Jordan** 30/11/12 WHO/IHR Dead
2 April 2012 25 M Jordan** 30/11/12 WHO/IHR Dead
3 13/06/12 60 M Saudi Arabia 20/09/12 Saudi Arabia/ProMed Dead
4 03/09/12 49 M Qatar/Saudi Arabia*** 22/09/12 HPA/WHO Alive
5 NK NK NK Saudi Arabia 04/11/12 Saudi
Arabia/SMJ/ProMed
Alive
6 12/10/12 45 M Qatar**** 23/11/12 RKI / WHO Alive
7 NK NK M Saudi Arabia* 19/11/12-
23/11/12
Saudi
Arabia/ProMed/WHO
Alive
8 28/10/12 NK M Saudi Arabia* 23/11/12 WHO Dead
9 Oct 2012 NK M Saudi Arabia* 28/11/12 WHO Dead
* Part of family cluster
** Healthcare worker and part of outbreak linked to hospital
*** Patient transferred to UK
**** Patient transferred to Germany
NK: not known
Update on event information
The most significant recent epidemiological development is the retrospective identification of novel coronavirus in
preserved biological samples from two fatal cases of severe pneumonia in Jordan in April 2012. The two cases
were part of a cluster of eleven cases with respiratory symptoms linked in time and space to a hospital near
Amman, Jordan. Eight of the cases in the cluster were healthcare workers. The two confirmed cases were reported
on 30 November 2012 through the Event Information Site for International Health Regulation Focal Points and in a
WHO press statement. A cluster of this size, especially when involving healthcare workers, raises questions about
the possibility of human-to-human transmission. It is important to note, however, that there are reports that some
or all of the nine non-fatal cases in the cluster were also tested for novel coronavirus, yet epidemiological
information about this remains limited.
ECDC, jointly with WHO, has mapped the capacity of virology reference laboratories in EU/EEA Member States with
regard to the novel coronavirus (RT-PCR/sequencing assay). So far, approximately 250 people have been tested
for the novel coronavirus in the EU since the first case was reported. Except for the two confirmed cases, which
were referred to the UK and Germany, none of the tests were positive. The results of this survey were published in
Eurosurveillance on 6 December 2012.
http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/20121207-Novel-coronavirus-rapid-risk-assessment.pdf