Feb. 20, 2013 10:55PM EST
A newly identified virus that comes from the same family as SARS has many worried that the world could be facing a threatening new pandemic. But it’s still unclear how much of a danger this new virus presents.
The virus has been dubbed EMC, after the Erasmus Medical Centre where it was first identified, or sometimes just NCoV, for “novel coronavirus.”
It was first identified in September, when the World Health Organization issued an international alert saying a completely new virus had infected a Qatari man from Britain who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia.
Since then, 12 cases have been identified, including a cluster of cases reported last week in a British family.
While there have so far been only a handful of known cases, half of those have resulted in death. That’s led many to worry about how virulent this new virus might be.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraged countries around the world to keep a close eye on any cases of acute respiratory infections within their borders, asking them to carefully review any unusual patterns.
Specifically, the global health body suggested testing for the new coronavirus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, as well as those with unexplained or complicated respiratory illness who aren’t responding to treatment...
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/who-urges-careful-testing-as-threat-of-new-coronavirus-still-not-understood-1.1165392#ixzz2LXAF4rsD
