The current outbreak raised the specter of another SARS epidemic, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003.
SARS emerged as a novel coronavirus in 2002, first infecting people in southern China, then spreading to more than two dozen countries. More than 8,000 people were sickened and more than 700 died. No new cases have been reported since 2004.
Another form of coronavirus has caused MERS, an illness that began in Jordan and Saudi Arabia in 2012 before spreading to about two dozen other countries. It has resulted in more than 800 deaths, with the majority reported from Saudi Arabia.Chinese researchers made their preliminary determination by using an isolate from one positive patient sample to conduct gene sequencing of the virus, according to a statement from Gauden Galea, a World Health Organization representative to China.
“Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement,” Galea said. But more must be done before scientists can reach a definitive conclusion. Xu Jianguo, the leader of the expert group that made the preliminary assessment, told Xinhua state news agency that they will conduct pathogenic and epidemiological research over the next several weeks to confirm that it is indeed a new coronavirus.
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