WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Western Cape Government Health is closely monitoring the developments of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) regularly issues updates on the situation.
No cases of the Coronavirus have been reported in South Africa or on the African continent.
Together with the National Department of Health, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has developed and distributed clinical guidelines and case definitions for doctors and nurses in both the public and the private sectors to better detect, identify and respond to a possible 2019-nCoV case.
Surveillance systems are in place to rapidly identify and detect any cases in South Africa. This includes the screening and monitoring of anyone with a relevant travel history and close contacts with the area of the outbreak.
Western Cape Government Health is prepared and ready to act if necessary.
Coronavirus explained
A coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in your nose, sinuses, or upper throat. Most coronaviruses are not dangerous. Some types are serious, though.
In early January 2020, the World Health Organization identified a new type: 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China. By late January, there were 300 confirmed cases in China.
Often a coronavirus causes upper respiratory infection symptoms like a stuffy nose, cough, and sore throat. You can treat them with rest and over-the-counter medication. The coronavirus can also cause middle ear infections in children.
Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s, but it is not known where they come from. They get their name from their crown-like shape. Sometime a coronavirus can infect both animals and humans.
Most coronaviruses spread the same way other cold-causing viruses do: through infected people coughing and sneezing, by touching an infected person's hands or face, or by touching things such as doorknobs that infected people have touched.
Transmission
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use.
The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system.
Many of those who have died are known to have been already in poor health.
Human to human transmission has been confirmed by China’s national health commission. As of 24 January the Chinese authorities had acknowledged more than 1 000 cases and 41 deaths. In the past week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as the municipalities Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin.
The virus has also been confirmed outside China.
Symptoms
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal.
It is advised that there is generally no need to visit a doctor for a cough unless it is persistent or you are having other symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or you feel very unwell.
Symptoms of the coronavirus include runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever and a general feeling of being unwell.
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