China confirms coronavirus spreads by human-to-human transmission

This appeared in The Millennial Source

On Monday, January 20, Chinese authorities confirmed that a new coronavirus strain is spreading through human-to-human transmission. Officials are concerned over the sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases.

Over 200 people have been diagnosed with the virus so far, officials say. Health experts believe the virus likely originated from human contact with an unidentified animal species at a market in Wuhan, a city in central China.

Despite the relatively modest number of official cases, scientists at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (MRC GIDA) at Imperial College London claim the number of infected persons in Wuhan could be as high as 1,700.

Four people have died in Wuhan thus far due to the virus. Confirmed cases of the disease have been found in other locations as well, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong. South Korea, Japan and Thailand have also reported cases from passengers traveling from China.

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