Coronavirus: Germany, Japan confirm first human transmission case

Germany on January 28 confirmed the first case of human transmission of the coronavirus whereas Japan confirmed a case of a tour bus driver who has never been to the city of Wuhan. According to reports, the patient in Germany is a 33-year-old man who contracted the infection from his Chinese colleague.

Japan confirms first human coronavirus transmission

According to reports, the Japanese health minister, Katsunobu Kato said that the tour bus driver is in his sixties and contracted the infection after driving around two groups of Chinese tourists from Wuhan. The bus driver was from the Nara Prefecture located in the Western part of Japan and had come down with pneumonia on January 25.

According to reports, a charter plane will land in the city of Wuhan on January 28 with a task to deliver masks and protective medical suits. The plane has also been tasked with evacuating almost 200 Japanese tourists. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe said that the Japanese tourists are expected to land in Japan on January 29.

The current death toll from the coronavirus in China stands at 106. Confirmed cases of the virus have reached over 4,500 after authorities in China reported 1,771 additional cases. According to reports, coronavirus is believed to have originated from the seafood and animal market located in Wuhan. The viral outbreak has caused concern because of its similarity to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which claimed the lives of almost 650 people across China and Hong Kong in the year 2002-2003.

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Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was previously not identified in humans. CoV causes illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

The novel coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was previously not identified in humans. CoV causes illness ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). CoV is zoonotic which means such viruses transmit between animals and humans but Chinese health authorities confirmed human to human transmission of the SARS-like virus, creating fears of a possible pandemic.

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(with inputs from agencies)