Health officials in China say that the respiratory infection that has made 59 people sick is not SARS, but they are not sure what the mysterious illness is and are warning everyone to keep their guard up. Officials are also warning residents and visitors to other Southeast Asian countries to be extremely careful because they know that a virus causes the disease.
Officials say that the virus is also not Bird Flu or Middle East respiratory virus. Many are relieved to learn that doctors do not believe that this is SAR as more than 8,000 people were infected with that disease in 2003 and 2004, with 774 people dying.
Experts believe that the epicenter of the outbreak is a seafood market that they closed on January 1, 2020, for sanitation. In addition to Wuhan seafood, the market sold other animals for food, including snakes and rabbits. This has sparked some people to speculate that the virus may spread between animals and humans.
Officials also said that they do not believe the virus spreads from one person to another, but they have put some exposed people under medical observation. If the infection does spread between individuals, it could not come at a worse time of year as millions in the country are traveling to spend holiday time with family. This might allow the virus to spread quickly to different countries as people are tightly confined in buses and airplanes.
The airports are trying to do their part to stop the spread of the disease if it can be passed between humans. Each person in Wuhan, China, who is traveling must submit to having their temperature taken and are not allowed to board flights if they are sick. In Hong Kong and Singapore, people arriving from Wuhan are also being screened.
The World Health Organization says that it is too early to place any restrictions on the country as it would hurt foreign trade efforts. Yet, they say that they are closely monitoring the situation.
