Mysterious Virus 2013: Spreads to U.K., 10th Case Linked to SARS Identified
Health officials in Britain announced on Monday that the tenth patient was identified with a case of a new virus related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemics.
The patient is a U.K. resident currently in intensive care at a hospital in Manchester for treatment of the coronavirus, according to a statement from Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA).
The health organization attempted to calm the public with the announcement that while there may be a new case in the UK the risk of catching the disease is low.
"Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travelers to the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low," the HPA said
The current health status of the patient is unknown, but in past cases patients had symptoms such as kidney failure, fever, and acute breathing problems.
The patient reportedly spent time in the Middle East and may have picked up the mysterious disease during travel. All the previous cases have had links to the Middle East, but it is possible that the virus is more widespread.
Reuters reported that there were five deaths out of the ten confirmed cases that include: five patients in Saudi Arabia, with three deaths; two patients in Jordan, where both died; two patients in Britain that are currently receiving treatment; and one patient in Germany from Qatar who had since been discharged from the hospital.
The latest infection announced did not cause the World Health Organization (WHO) to change the current risk assessment.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that are behind ailments including the common cold and the deadly SARS which was responsible for the global deaths of around 800 people in 2002, according to Yahoo News.
