WHO ups global coronavirus risk to high
LIKE THE rest of the world, Jamaica is on alert for the dreaded coronavirus, which has killed scores of persons in China and sickened thousands.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is currently no vaccine to prevent the infection. As such, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus, now called 2019- nCoV.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) upped the global risk assessment that the novel coronavirus poses from moderate to high risk, but have not yet declared the outbreak an international public health emergency.
Understanding the time when infected patients may transmit the virus to others is critical for control efforts, to strengthen response efforts, Christian Lindmeier told journalists.
Lindmeier from the WHO told journalists in Geneva that “scientists and medical staff on the ground have learned that the incubation period can be anything between one and 14 days”, admitting that despite symptoms varying during this period, showing no symptoms at all to showing mild, moderate or severe symptoms , “people can transmit the virus within this time”.
Detailed epidemiological information from more people infected is needed to determine the infectious period of 2019- nCoV, in particular whether transmission can occur from asymptomatic individuals or during the incubation period, WHO reports confirmed.
Regarding human-to-human transmission, WHO admitted to transfer occurring mainly among close contacts and healthcare workers, whereas a brief window for limited transmission may also occur through shared surfaces, as Lindmeier confirmed. He said, “it stays on the surfaces, yes, but if you touch a door handle, for example, or if I would cough into my hand and pass you my phone, immediately it could transfer”.
WHO’s spokesperson said that the time range for this sort of transmission was not confirmed, but it seemed to be “fairly short”; if you passed the location of infection “half an hour later, there should not be a problem anymore”.