In case you’re not aware, there’s a mysterious virus floating in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
To get you up to speed, here’s a summary of what’s happened so far:
- A mysterious and unexplained virus broke out in December last year, and it’s linked to people who have been to a market selling seafood and live animals in Wuhan
- The market has since been closed and disinfected
- With limited information on the outbreak, Singapore started screening people coming in to Singapore from Wuhan
- 41 people have been confirmed to be infected so far, and there has been no new cases since 3 January 2020 (there has been many other variations, but this number is provided by the Chinese state media)
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) stepped in to investigate, and said that it could be a new emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the Sars and Mers outbreaks
- One person has died due to the virus in China, but the 61-year-old victim was previously diagnosed with abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease
On 4 January 2020, a 3-year-old girl who had gone to Wuhan became the first suspected case of the mystery virus in Singapore, but a day later, it was confirmed that her pneumonia is not linked to the Wuhan virus.
And yesterday, a 26-year-old man, who has been to Wuhan, was admitted for treatment and isolated as a precautionary measure. It’s unknown if he had been screened at the airport or had fallen ill only recently.
Man’s Pneumonia Not Related to Wuhan Virus
Today (11 January 2020), it’s confirmed that the man’s pneumonia is also not linked to the Wuhan virus.
MOH is still monitoring the situation and reminds travelers to Wuhan to monitor their health closely.
And for the public like us, we should remain vigilant and adopt good personal hygiene practices.
From Bats to Humans?
Lest you’ve forgotten, the SARS virus is thought to have originated from bats.
Information about the latest virus is still hazy, but according to Chinese scientists, it could have also come from bats as well.
Also, do note that there has been no reported cases of human-to-human transmissions, and everything that’s done is done as precautionary measure.
In the meantime, let’s not speculate and get on with our lives; just stay healthy.
