China’s health authorities have announced the diagnosis of 17 new cases of atypical lung disease in Wuhan, central China.
To date, two patients have died in China from lung disease caused by a new strain of the Coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in the animal market in Wuhan.
On Sunday, health authorities in Wuhan said the adjusted figure came after experts examined patients with unknown lung disease in several hospitals. This brings the total number of patients diagnosed in China to 62.
According to health authorities, of the 17 patients newly diagnosed with the new virus, three are in a critical condition, and the rest are in stable condition. The authorities will continue to conduct investigations of the suspected cases.
But the appearance of the virus raises fears. At this time, hundreds of millions of people are preparing to travel during the Chinese New Year holiday later this month.
HIV cases have been recorded in many Chinese cities and in other countries such as Thailand and Japan.
Airports in many of China´s neighboring countries have imposed fever tests on arrivals. In the United States, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles airports have started health checks for people from Wuhan.
The World Health Organization has stated that so far there is no "clear evidence" of the spread of the "Wuhan" virus through human contact, but experts from Imperial College London, a research university in London specializing in science, medicine, engineering and business administration, warned against not excluding the transmission of the virus From human to human, based on previous experience with the outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
While the health authorities in Wuhan report that the number of injured people has reached 62, experts indicated in a study released on Friday that there could be 1,700 cases in Wuhan.
And the Chinese National Health Commission issued a statement on Sunday, saying that its experts have decided that "the current epidemic is still preventable and controllable."
The committee added, "However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found and the transmission of the epidemic has not been fully verified and the mutation of the virus still needs to be closely monitored."
