A Man Has Tested Positive In Japan's First Case Of The Mysterious Wuhan Virus
He was hospitalised for five days.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 16 Jan 2020, 12:50 PM
A man who travelled to Japan from Wuhan, China was infected with a mysterious pneumonia-causing virus
Medical workers waiting for disinfection after medical aid on suspected case during anti-MERS drill at Qingdao Port in 2015.
Image via Kyodo NewsThe Japan Times reported that the man is a Chinese national who lives in the Kanagawa prefecture. He developed a fever on 3 January during his visit to Wuhan and he returned to Japan three days later.
In a statement by the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, they explained that he was hospitalised last Friday, 10 January but was discharged on Wednesday after his condition improved.
Similar to another case in Thailand, the man had not visited the now-closed seafood market associated with the outbreak
Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where some of the viral pneumonia cases originated.
Image via South China Morning PostIt is possible that he came in close contact with a person infected with the virus while in Wuhan, the ministry said.
Initially, authorities linked the mysterious illness to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market where some of the viral pneumonia cases originated.
However, these new cases have raised the possibility that the pathogen is lurking more widely in the city. This is a pressing matter as the city of Wuhan is expected to be bustling with people visiting markets to prepare for Chinese New Year.
According to The Straits Times, the outbreak in China has hospitalised dozens of people, killing one.
Coronaviruses usually cause common cold symptoms, infecting the nose, sinuses, or upper throat.
They are spread through sneezing, coughing or direct contact.
In more serious cases, they lead to deadly respiratory diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome or Middle East respiratory syndrome, commonly known as SARS and MERS, respectively.
These syndromes were ruled out as the cause of the outbreak in Wuhan.
A woman from Wuhan was quarantined in a hospital in Thailand last week after being infected with the coronavirus, making her the first case outside China:
