Infectious Disease

Coronavirus Update: Potential Source Identified, More Cases Emerge

Snake-to-human transmission is the most likely source of the 2019 novel coronavirus responsible for the current outbreak, according to new research.1

The outbreak, now including more than 540 confirmed cases and 17 deaths, could lead the World Health Organization to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.2 As of January 23, 2020, Chinese officials have reported plans to shut down public transportation and suspend outgoing flights from Wuhan City in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.

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The outbreak centered around a market in which wildlife including seafood, poultry, snakes, bats, and farm animals were being sold. Following a genetic analysis of the virus and the comparing of samples with others from various geographic locations and hosts, researchers have found that the 2019 novel coronavirus appears to be a recombination of a coronavirus found in bats and another coronavirus of unknown origin. Following this, evidence was found suggesting that the virus was likely carried by snakes before being transmitted to humans.

Before the first US case of 2019 novel coronavirus was identified, CDC released guidance for health care providers for the evaluation of patients with suspected infection.

“More cases are likely to be identified in the coming days, including possibly more cases in the United States. Given what has occurred previously with MERS and SARS, it’s likely that some person-to-person spread will continue to occur,” CDC wrote.3

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. Ji W, Wang W, Zhao X, Zai J, Li X. Homologous recombination within the spike glycoprotein of the newly identified coronavirus may boost cross‐species transmission from snake to human [published online January 22, 2020]. J Med Virol. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25682.
  2. China's Wuhan shuts down transport as global alarm mounts over virus spread [news release]. Beijing/Shanghai, China: Reuters. January 21, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-transmission/china-virus-deaths-rise-to-nine-heightening-global-alarm-idUSKBN1ZL07C. Accessed January 23, 2020.
  3. 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Wuhan, China. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html#cdc-response. Updated January 22, 2020. Accessed January 23, 2020.