Better tests key to number of coronavirus cases identified
Expanded capability enables quick diagnosis
BETTER test capability and expanded test coverage have been cited as key reasons for the surge in the number of confirmed cases of the deadly novel coronavirus infections in China, according to experts.
The virus has claimed the lives of at least 170 people. The World Health Organisation was yesterday expected to decide whether the epidemic was an international public health issue.
Chinese health authorities, meanwhile, announced that 7 711 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the end of Wednesday.
There were 1 737 new confirmed cases and 4 148 new suspected cases.
In Wuhan, in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, more than 12 000 new test kits have been issued to test institutions and designated hospitals, which had enabled the city to test nearly 2 000 suspected case samples in a single day, compared with only 200 samples at the early stage of the epidemic, the municipal health commission said.
Tests can now be conducted in Hubei without having to send the samples to Beijing, according to Ma Guoqiang, party secretary of Wuhan.
Renowned Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan said it would take at least three months to prove a vaccine for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was effective.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Li said: “As of Wednesday, we have isolated five strains of the virus, two of which are very suitable for vaccine development.”
Li Xingwang, an infectious disease expert with Beijing Ditan Hospital and a member of China’s national expert team against the coronavirus, said expanded test coverage had identified some infected cases without any symptoms.
The strong human-to-human transmissibility of the virus is also one of the reasons for the surge in confirmed cases. Researchers have found that it only takes the novel coronavirus six to seven days to double the number of confirmed cases, compared with about nine days for the Sars virus, according to Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The low number of discharged patients was due to the fact that they must strictly meet the discharge standards set by the state before being released.
It generally takes about one week for patients with mild symptoms to recover, and two weeks or more for those with severe symptoms, Li said.
“With clinical symptoms basically relieved and their body temperatures returning to normal, cured patients need to go through two virus detections before being discharged, to ensure no infectivity,” he added.
Infected people can spread the virus even if they show no symptoms or only have mild symptoms, including mild fever, occasional dry cough or fatigue, Li said, adding that they may not be as contagious due to less coughing.
Yesterday, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque confirmed that a 38-year-old Chinese female had tested positive for the novel coronavirus (2019nCoV), the first novel coronavirus case in the Philippines. Duque told a news conference the woman arrived in the Philippines from Wuhan, via Hong Kong, on January 21. The patient was admitted to a government hospital.
In India, one person tested positive yesterday for the coronavirus in the southern state of Kerala, the health ministry said.
The patient has been kept at an isolation ward at a hospital. “One positive case of novel coronavirus – that of a student studying at Wuhan University – has been reported in Kerala,” said India’s federal health ministry.
“The patient has tested positive for novel coronavirus and is in isolation in the hospital.” The ministry officials said the patient was stable and being closely monitored.
Meanwhile, South African music teacher Sheryl Deane has resorted to teaching her students in Wuhan online after her flight back to the city today was cancelled as it remains under lockdown.
Deane returned to Cape Town just before the lockdown and said she was cleared of the virus.
“I called the hotline and Dr Taljaard at Tygerberg Hospital said I am cleared. If anyone suffers the symptoms – coughs, flu, temperature, shortness of breath, dry throat with temperature – they should be checked.
“Five million people left Wuhan before the lockdown. My international staff colleagues are in Canada, Philippines, UK, India, Australia. So far, it hasn’t reached South Africa. I hope it stays that way.”
National Health Department spokesperson Popo Maja said yesterday there were no cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus in South Africa.