Coronavirus scare in Madhya Pradesh; medical student studying in Wuhan, mother hospitalised

A medical student from Madhya Pradesh, who returned from China’s Wuhan on January 13, has been hospitalised along with his mother over suspicion of contracting the

A medical student from Madhya Pradesh, who returned from China’s Wuhan on January 13, has been hospitalised along with his mother over suspicion of contracting the deadly coronavirus, health officials said on Tuesday.

A worker sprays the underground parking of an office building with disinfectant in Changsha, in China’s Hunan province on January 29. (Reuters Photo)

The student belongs to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. He had respiratory problems for the past six days but didn’t get cured despite taking medicines,” officials further said.

“The student and his mother have cough and cold. Samples have been sent to a laboratory in Pune to find out if they are affected by Coronavirus. The report is awaited. However, both the patients admitted to an isolation ward are out of danger,” said chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Ujjain Dr Mahavir Khandelwal.

Madhya Pradesh health minister Tulsi Silavat has instructed officials across the state to make preparations in hospitals including admission of such patients in isolation wards and also screen suspected patients of coronavirus at the airports.

“Till now we have just two suspected patients from across the state who are suspected of having coronavirus - the medical student and his mother in Ujjain. Since he had a travel history we identified him and admitted the isolation ward,” said Joint director, IDSP (Integrated disease surveillance programme), Dr Rajesh Kathal.

“All the district hospitals, medical colleges and airports have been apprised of the protocol to identify the patients with the suspected virus. There is special attention to people coming from China,” Kathal further said.

The official said that the reports from Pune lab regarding the samples of the medical student and his mother are expected to be received by Wednesday.

The coronavirus is believed to have originated from Wuhan in China last month and its outbreak has claimed more than 130 lives so far, and infected more than 6000 people.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.