China Finds No Human-to-Human Spread in Widening Pneumonia Cases

(Bloomberg) -- A pneumonia outbreak in China that’s infected 15 more people doesn’t appear to be spreading from human to human, officials said, after ruling out SARS as a potential cause of the mysterious disease.As of Sunday morning, 59 people had been diagnosed with pneumonia, the cause of which is unknown, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement late Sunday. That’s up from 44 on Friday. Seven people are in serious condition. Some of the infected people were linked to a fresh seafood and produce market in the central Chinese city.“As of now, preliminary investigations have shown no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission and no medical staff infections,” the commission said in the statement in Chinese.Cases involving health-care workers would be a worrying sign that the infectious agent is capable of spreading between people, potentially touching off an epidemic like the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, that killed almost 800 people about 17 years ago.Pathogen IdentificationRespiratory pathogens such as influenza, avian influenza, adenovirus, SARS and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, have been excluded, authorities in Wuhan said. Pathogen identification is still under way, they said.Among the 59 patients, the first developed symptoms on Dec. 12 and the latest on Dec. 29. Some 163 people who have been in close contact with cases have been followed up for medical observation, the commission said.The situation is being monitored by the World Health Organization, which said it’s in active communication with its counterparts in China.Increased PrecautionsThe United Nations agency activated its incident-management system at the country, regional and global level and is standing ready to launch a broader response if it’s needed, the WHO’s regional office in Manila said in Twitter posts Saturday.Authorities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore increased precautions at airports to prevent any possible spread of the infections.Singapore’s Ministry of Health said Saturday it hospitalized a 3-year-old girl with pneumonia and a history of travel to Wuhan. Preliminary tests on the child were positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common cause of childhood pneumonia. Investigations are continuing to confirm this as the cause, the ministry said.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Melbourne at j.gale@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, Jeff Sutherland, Soraya PermatasariFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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