Riyaz Patel
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) says while the risk of the novel coronavirus which first surfaced in China remains low in South Africa, it is has nevertheless instituted active surveillance measures to identify any potential imported cases.
“There is no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission. There are no direct flights from Wuhan to South Africa, however, it is possible that individuals could travel to South Africa from Wuhan via other countries,” said the NICD.
The novel coronavirus, a type of pneumonia, behind the outbreak in China has not previously been identified in people even though coronaviruses are nothing new.
They are part of a big group of viruses that cause illnesses such as the common cold and gastrointestinal infections.
By Wednesday, there were more than 440 confirmed cases, and 17 reported deaths, almost doubling the death toll in the space of one day.
All of the deaths have occurred in Wuhan, which has a population of some 11 million. Now the entire city, has in effect, been quarantined, according to news reports.
Chinese authorities have reportedly urged people to stop travelling in or out of the city, going as far as to temporarily shut down public transport, but have acknowledged that efforts to curtail the outbreak will be made more difficult by the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which sees hundreds of millions criss-crossing the country visiting relatives.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) met Wednesday to determine the international public health implications of this outbreak.
“There was an excellent discussion during the committee today, but it was also clear that to proceed, we need more information,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after the meeting.
“For that reason, I have decided to ask the Emergency Committee to meet again tomorrow (Thursday) to continue their discussion,” he added
“The decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of international concern is one I take extremely seriously, and one I am only prepared to make with appropriate consideration of all the evidence.”
Symptoms of novel coronavirus are fever and cough, with a few patients presenting with difficulty in breathing and bilateral infiltrates on chest X-rays.
According to the NICD, treatment is supportive, as no specific therapy has been shown to be effective.
“This suggests that the novel coronavirus has a possible zoonotic origin,” said the NICD.
“The outcome of that (WHO) meeting will direct the global response strategy.”