There is no reason to sound the alarm bells over a new virus being linked to SARS, the virus which killed hundreds of people, mostly in Asia, in the 2003 global outbreak. So far, officials have only identified two confirmed cases and say the virus is not as infectious as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Most significantly, the World Health Organization is not recommending any travel restrictions anywhere in the Middle East where the virus began. One patient was a Saudi Arabian man who died several months ago while the other is a Qatari national who traveled to Saudi Arabia before falling ill and is currently in critical but stable condition in a London hospital. WHO said it is considering the possibility a new coronavirus sickened the men after direct contact with animals, including camels, goats and sheep. Like other coronaviruses, the new virus is spread through droplets of body fluids produced by sneezing and coughing. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which includes those that cause the common cold and SARS. Coronaviruses cause respiratory infections in humans and animals. The two people infected so far had fever and coughing and breathing difficulties. Both patients experienced kidney failure. Experts believe the new virus is not very contagious. If it were, there would have been more cases in other countries or the people caring for these two cases, the first of which occurred more than three months ago, would have succumbed. Moreover, coronaviruses are fairly fragile. Outside of the body they can only survive for a day and are easily destroyed by the usual detergents and cleaning agents. At this stage the novel virus looks unlikely to prove a concern partly because the global response is drastically different from what it was in 2003 when the world learned about the original SARS virus only after it had already taken root in Hong Kong. SARS caused a global outbreak, spreading from Hong Kong to more than 30 countries and killing around 800 people. Although it has not been eradicated, its spread was fully contained in 2003. Today, the whole world found out about this new SARS-like virus less than three weeks after its second known victim first developed symptoms. In short, the surveillance for viruses that cause disease, particularly respiratory viruses, has improved enormously over the last 10 years worldwide. This time around scientific and technological advances have allowed health officials to shift from reaction to anticipation. Saudi officials have warned that next month's Haj, which brings millions to Saudi Arabia from all over the world, could allow the virus to spread. The World Health Organization said it was working closely with Saudi authorities in advance of the pilgrimage. There have been a small number of other cases of serious respiratory illness in the Middle East in the past three months. In fact there have been many new coronaviruses over the last 30 years. Viruses are all around us but in most cases do not inflict serious damage. We should not panic because a new virus was discovered. Early discovery is infinitely better than not knowing about it until it's too late.
