Next Epidemic: Coronavirus?

So it seems there is a new deadly virus out there and the worry is out that it may travel further.

Last September a doctor in a Saudi hospital was fired for reporting a new, deadly strain of the coronavirus. Now, with half of all confirmed cases ending in death, the World Health Organisation has issued a global alert and scientists are preparing for the worst

 

It is said that this virus is far more deadly than SARS disease we previously suffered, as this is an infectious agent belonging to a family of pathogens called coronaviruses. However there are no signs that the virus spreads easily from person to person, so far reassuring.

No one knows where the virus came from, but scientists have an idea. When researchers ran the genetic sequence through a library of known coronaviruses, it closely matched a strain that resides in pipistrelle bats. If the connection with bats sounds familiar, there is good reason. The Sars virus was also tracked to bats, though it spread to humans via infected civet cats. The suspicion over the latest virus prompted the Saudi Arabian government to call in the Columbia University team to survey bats in the surrounds of Bisha city, home to the first patient identified with the virus by Zaki. The team has yet to publish its findings, but whatever they are, they will not complete the picture. The first animal found to harbour the virus might not be the one that spreads it to people.

End result, we must stay monitoring and surveying at the World Health Organisation. We must take precautions and not be ignorant as we are still unsure of where this virus came from, possibly traveling from humans or through animals.

For follow up on the subject, please visit the link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/mar/15/coronavirus-next-global-pandemic

PS… Sorry I have not been blogging, I am currently in Ethiopia on a mission trip. God bless you all and stay safe!