Alarms raised in China as mystery pneumonia outbreak infects dozens and spurs WHO action
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China’s health authorities are trying to identify what is causing an outbreak of pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, officials said, as the number of its cases rose to 44 and Singapore said it would screen arrivals at the airport from there.
Authorities this week said they were investigating 27 cases of infection after rumours on social media suggested the outbreak could be linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and is being monitored by the World Health Organization, which said it’s in active communication with its counterparts in China, where an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
The United Nations agency activated its incident-management system at the country, regional and global level and is standing ready to launch a broader response if it’s needed, the WHO’s regional office in Manila said in Twitter posts Saturday.
Pathogen studies have ruled out more common respiratory diseases, including influenza, avian flu and adenovirus, Wuhan health authorities said. All the patients are being treated under quarantine, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.
There is concern about the potential jump of an unknown virus to humans — reminiscent of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, which killed almost 800 people about 17 years ago.
