Of 12 cases around the world to date, six people have died
WHO urges vigilance over SARS-like virus
The World Health Organisation on Saturday urged countries to be vigilant over the spread of a potentially fatal SARS-like virus after a new case in Britain brought the global number to 12.
SARS-like virus well suited to attack humans: Study.
TUESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) — The new SARS-like “coronavirus” that first emerged in the Middle East can invade the lungs and immune system as easily as the common cold, according to a new study.
But in the event of a large-scale outbreak, researchers in Switzerland found the virus — known as HCoV-EMC — may be treatable with components of the immune system, known as interferons. This immunotherapy has shown promise in the treatment of the respiratory disease SARS and hepatitis C, the study authors said.
“Surprisingly, this coronavirus grows very efficiently on human epithelial cells,” said study co-author Volker Thiel of the Institute of Immunobiology at Kantonal Hospital in St. Gallen, in a news release from the American Society for Microbiology. Epithelial cells line hollow organs and glands.
New coronavirus can infect human lungs as easily as cold virus: study
TORONTO — A study has shown that the new coronavirus is adept at infecting the cells of the airways of the human lung and can do it as well as a virus that is one of the causes of the common cold.