WHO warns public about new virus strain

A new strain of the coronavirus is still being passed on, warns the World Health Organization. The virus, a cousin of SARS, has killed 18 people since it was first identified last year. Those infected with the virus had traveled to Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan. There have also been cases in Britain and Germany. The largest cluster of infections is in Saudi Arabia, where in 15 confirmed cases, 9 died. No vaccine is available yet, but patients are responding to treatments being used to battle pneumonia. The WHO Assistant Director Keiji Fukuda says, “There is a need for countries to…increase levels of awareness” because the virus spreads when there is close contact. He continued to say, “Thankfully it is not comparable to SARS.” In less than a year there have been 34 reported cases. With SARS, there were 8,000 on just a few months.

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