Third patient falls ill with the new coronavirus

4 November 2012, 10 p.m.

In Saudi Arabia a third patient has fallen ill with the new corona virus, which had already been detected in two patients from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. While the first patient died in Saudi Arabia in the summer, the second patient from Qatar is receiving medical treatment in London (cf. report/news from 24 September 2012). The laboratory-confirmed third patient was admitted with flu-like symptoms to a hospital in Saudi Arabia for treatment.

It has already been possible to move the patient, who had to be treated in the intensive care unit for some time, onto a normal ward where he is recovering from his illness. His relatives and the medical staff show no signs of being infected to date. The investigations are continuing, however.The Emerging Infections unit at the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF) is working intensely on such new or newly occurring viruses. The testing method which the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends world-wide to detect the new virus was developed by DZIF member Professor Christian Drosten (Bonn). The fact that suspected cases can be quickly tested for new types of illnesses is an incredibly important step for the global containment of infection hazards. 

Quotations

Professor Christian Drosten (University of Bonn): “This third case fuels concerns that the new virus really is in circulation. Person-to-person transmission does not yet mean that a fatal epidemic is on the horizon, however. Viruses of the respiratory tract cause mild infections in most cases. All three patients known so far had been very seriously ill and could therefore represent exceptions.”

Professor Stephan Becker (University of Marburg):  “The repeated occurrence of a serious infection of the respiratory tract which was caused by the new corona virus shows that the situation must continue to be monitored very closely. It would be very important to investigate whether and how many people have already been in contact with this virus to enable a better assessment of how dangerous it is.” 

Sources

 ProMed Alert from 4 November 2012, reported by Prof. Ziad Memish, Saudi-Arabia

The German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF) is a recently established alliance of leading research institutions in the field of viral, bacterial and parasitological infections in Germany. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and seven Federal host States have been funding the Centre since November 2011.