Mysterious virus spreads: New disease infects U.K. patient with SARS symptoms

A coronavirus in transmission electron micrograph

A mysterious virus spreads through the UK this week, as CTV News reported this Monday, Feb. 11, that British doctors have confirmed the 10th known case of a deadly new coronavirus, the mystery disease linked to SARS and first fully identified only last year. Residents need not worry yet about a SARS-like epidemic, but should be aware; though there isn’t any proof the virus is spread from human to human contact, medical officials currently believe humans are most likely to catch the disease from different types of animals, including bats.

This 10th case of the coronavirus has struck a U.K. patient who had been visiting the Middle East in recent months. The patient is currently in intensive care, says the press release fromBritain’s Health Protection Agency.

Though not fully understood, coronaviruses are an actual virus family that cause common coldsymptoms, and are a root cause of SARS, which killed over 800 people in 2003 in a global epidemic.

As the mysterious virus spreads through the U.K., known symptoms include kidney failure and sharp breathing problems. All previous cases of the mystery disease were previously linked to the Middle East, but the virus is now reported by the World Health Organization to be more widespread through human travel.

http://www.examiner.com/article/mysterious-virus-spreads-new-disease-infects-u-k-patient-with-sars-symptoms

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