Mediaboss Marketing

Published on 18 February 2013 Hits: 964 Written by AFP

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to be vigilant over the spread of a potentially fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS-like virus after a new case in Britain brought the global number to 12.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections and to carefully review any unusual patterns, the United Nations health agency said in a statement.

On Friday, British health authorities said that a third member of a family had been diagnosed with so-called novel coronavirus, but was not in danger.

Although this new case offers further indications of person-to-person transmission, no sustained person-to-person transmission has been identified, said the Health organization.

Testing for the new coronavirus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, or in patients with unexplained severe, progressive, or complicated respiratory illness not responding to treatment, it added.

Clusters of cases, and cases among health workers, should be thoroughly investigated wherever they occur, it underlined.

Britains Health Protection Agency said that the latest person to contract the virus was a relative of two other cases announced earlier this week.

The first member of the family, who was confirmed on Monday as having the virus, had just traveled to the Middle East and Pakistan. The two relatives had no recent travel history.

Twelve cases have been reported to the Health agency, with five of them fatalthree in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan.

Here is the original post:
Countries warned vs. new killer virus