New SARS-like Virus Strikes 10th Victim Globally

It seems that a SARS-like virus, dubbed a coronavirus, has struck again. A new patient was found in Britain, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 10. Five of the patients have died.

This new virus shares some of the symptoms of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; it emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. Symptoms included severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.

This new virus, though, was discovered in September 2012 when it was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO). It had infected a Qatari man who had recently visited Saudi Arabia.

Like other coronaviruses, this new one can spread like other respiratory infections: travelling through the air in droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Currently, five of the ten cases have occurred in Saudi Arabia, two in Jordan and two in Britain. This latest case comes from a man who had recently travelled to the Middle East and Pakistan.

This new virus can cause serious complications, such as acute breathing problems and kidney failure. It led to the deaths of three of the patients in Saudi Arabia and both of the patients in Jordan. Although there is currently no proof that the virus spreads easily between humans, scientists suspect that humans can catch it from animals such as bats or camels.

Although all of the previous cases have had links to the Middle East, WHO has cautioned that the virus is probably more widespread. It recommends that countries test anyone with unexplained pneumonia for the virus.

"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," said Britain's Health Protection Agency, according to Reuters.

Currently, the latest patient is receiving hospital care in Manchester, northern England.