Mysterious virus spreads; are you at risk? A new coronavirus was discovered just last year. Now there have already been 10 known cases of the disease. The 10th patient with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related virus is a resident of the United Kingdom who spent time in Pakistan and the Middle East, according to a Feb. 11, 2013 report by Businessweek.
Britain's Health Protection Agency released a statement on Monday that said the unidentified patient is currently being treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Manchester. Of the 10 individuals diagnosed as this mysterious virus spreads, two cases have turned up in the United Kingdom, and all 10 had some relation to the Middle East.
As this new mysterious virus spreads, people are concerned about whether they are at risk. According to the Health Protection Agency, "Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travellers to the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low."
Coronaviruses comprise both SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the virus that causes the common cold. Although 10 cases does not an epidemic make, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that "countries test anyone with unexplained pneumonia for the virus."
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