Coronavirus update: New WHO initiative; Are children being spared?
Key Takeaways
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There has been one new confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States, since yesterday’s Coronavirus update. This brings the total to 12 confirmed cases in the US, according to the WHO.
Public health officials are investigating whether the novel coronavirus can be transmitted from asymptomatic patients. A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine described a possible transmission from an asymptomatic woman. However, the authors never spoke to her; a follow-up call revealed she had had symptoms during transmission, including fatigue and muscle pain, and was taking a fever-reducing medication, according to Science.
Regardless, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, stated that asymptomatic transmission is typically not the main driver in a respiratory disease outbreak.
A report in Radiology may shed light on the key chest CT findings in patients infected with the virus. Analysis of infected patients showed that common findings include bilateral ground-glass and consolidative pulmonary opacities. Nodular opacities, crazy-paving pattern, and a peripheral distribution of disease may also be of early diagnostic significance. Authors caution that a normal chest CT scan does not necessarily rule out infection with the novel coronavirus.
While a total of 28,265 people have been infected in 25 countries (as of time of publication), relatively few children appear to have severe symptoms, according to the New York Times. Investigators believe children may have milder disease, but data are limited on those types of infections at this time.
The WHO announced that the international community has launched a $675 million preparedness and response plan that will be in effect from February through April 2020. The objectives are to limit human-to-human transmission of the virus—particularly in the most vulnerable countries—and to identify, isolate, and care for patients early. Communication of critical risk information and minimization of the social and economic impact are also laid out as goals. “My biggest worry is that there are countries today who do not have the systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, WHO Director-General. “Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human to human transmission and protect health workers.”