Second French coronavirus case confirmed
A second diagnosis of the new SARS-like coronavirus has been confirmed in France, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, in what appeared to be a case of human-to-human transmission.
The new infection was found in a 50-year-old man who had shared a hospital room with France’s only other known sufferer, the ministry said in a statement.
Health experts are concerned about clusters of the new coronavirus strain, nCoV, which was first spotted in the Gulf and has spread to France, Britain and Germany.
There has so far been little evidence of direct and sustained human-to-human transmission of nCoV - in contrast to the pattern seen in the related Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed 775 people in 2003.
The first nCoV case in France, confirmed on May 8, is a 65-year-old man who fell ill after returning from Dubai late last month.
Both French patients are in hospital in the northern city of Lille, where the younger man was transferred to intensive care on Sunday as his breathing deteriorated.
His case suggests that airborne transmission of the virus is possible, though still unusual, said Professor Benoit Guery, head of the Lille hospital’s infectious diseases unit.
‘Major Challenge’
“The emergence of this new coronavirus is globally recognized as an important and major challenge for all of the countries which have been affected as well as the rest of the world,” Hartl said in the WHO statement.
Investigators have yet to determine the source of the virus, the mode of transmission, the level of human involvement in its spread or how widespread it is, he said.
Most of the infected people have been older men, often with other medical conditions, Hartl said. Doctors aren’t sure of the reason for this pattern and whether it will change over time, he said.
“Several urgent actions are needed,” Hartl said. “The most important ones are the need for countries, both inside and outside of the region, to increase their levels of awareness among all people, but especially among staff working in their health systems and to increase their levels of surveillance about this new infection.”
Coronaviruses are a family of pathogens that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, which sickened more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in 2002 and 2003, according to the WHO. While the new virus is related to the one that causes SARS, it appears far less transmissible, the WHO has said.
“Fortunately, this remains a virus that is not easily transmitted,” Guery told the BFMTV channel. “I don’t think the public should be concerned - it has been out there for a year and we have 34 cases globally.”
He said the second French case had occurred because the first patient presented “quite atypical” symptoms and had not been isolated immediately.
Health officials screened 124 people who had come into contact with him and carried out laboratory tests on at least five, including three medical staff.
CDC continues to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to better understand the public health risk presented by recently reported cases of infection with a novel coronavirus. As of May 9, 2013, 33 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported to WHO - 24 from Saudi Arabia, two from Qatar, two from Jordan, three from the United Kingdom, one from the United Arab Emirates, and one from France. The onset of illness was between April 2012 and May 2013 (1). Among the 33 cases, 18 were fatal. Two of the 33 cases experienced a mild respiratory illness and fully recovered.
Clusters of cases in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Kingdom are being investigated. The first cluster of two cases, both fatal, occurred near Amman, Jordan, in April 2012. Stored samples from these two cases tested positive retrospectively for the novel coronavirus. This cluster was temporally associated with cases of illness among workers in a hospital (2). A second cluster occurred in October 2012, in Saudi Arabia. Of the four individuals in the household, three were laboratory-confirmed cases, two of them died. In February 2013, a third cluster of three family members was identified in the United Kingdom. All three people tested positive for novel coronavirus. Among them, two died, and one recovered after experiencing a mild respiratory illness. This cluster provides evidence of person-to-person transmission of novel coronavirus. It also provides the first example of mild illness being associated with novel coronavirus infection. A fourth cluster among two family contacts occurred in Saudi Arabia in February 2013. One of the individuals died, and one recovered after experiencing a mild respiratory illness. In May 2013, a fifth cluster was reported in Saudi Arabia and is linked to one healthcare facility. A total of 15 cases have been reported in the cluster, of which seven have died. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health is investigating the situation.
There is clear evidence of limited, not sustained, human-to-human transmission, possibly involving different modes of transmission such as droplet and contact transmission. But further studies are required to better understand the risks. The efficiency of person-to-person transmission of novel coronavirus is not well characterized but appears to be low, given the small number of confirmed cases since the discovery of the virus.
All came back negative except the fellow patient, who had been in “close and prolonged contact” when they shared a hospital room in nearby Valenciennes between April 27 and 29, the ministry said.
French authorities are now broadening the screening effort to include anyone who has been in contact with the second confirmed case.
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Reuters