More than 3,000 medical workers could have been infected with the coronavirus (covid-19) pathogen by February 11, a new study by the top Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found, adding that many cases among them were severe in nature.
The study found that – contrary to what was being assumed earlier -- the covid-19 was much more infectious than both the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the middle-eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS).
The new study again revealed the dangerous environment front line medics are working in the outbreak epicentre Wuhan and other cities of the Hubei province – most often while tackling the disease amid a serious shortage of protective clothing.
“Among the 422 medical institutions providing diagnosis and treatment services for patients with new coronary pneumonia (covid-19), a total of 3,019 medical staff were infected with the new coronavirus,” the CDC study conducted on more than 72,000 patients with both confirmed and suspected cases said.
The cases among the medics, the study said included confirmed cases, suspected cases, clinically diagnosed cases, and asymptomatic infections.
They could have been infected from non-occupational exposures as well, the study said.
{{/usCountry}}They could have been infected from non-occupational exposures as well, the study said.
{{/usCountry}}The large-scale study and analysis was published on Monday in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology.
It is titled “Analysis of the Epidemiological Features of New Coronavirus Pneumonia” which was written by the CDC’s Epidemiology Group of the Emergency Response Mechanism of New Coronavirus Pneumonia.
The report states that, as of now, there is no evidence that a “super spreader” incident has occurred in any of the medical institutions.
However, “…the report reminds that serious medical staff infections have occurred in some areas of Wuhan and Hubei, but the specific causes of medical staff infections and protection failures have yet to be investigated further,” the report quoted in Chinese local media said.
The study analysed all covid-19 patients (included suspected ones) until February 11.
“Early cases suggest that the new crown virus may not be as severe as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. However, the rapidly increasing number of cases and increasing evidence of human-to-human transmission suggest that the virus is more contagious than SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The report believes that although the new coronavirus 2019 is highly contagious, most patients show mild symptoms and have a low overall crude case fatality rate,” the study said.
The CDC said “…in late December 2019, an unexplained mass of pneumonia cases occurred in Wuhan, China, which caused the concern of the health authorities. On December 31, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention sent a rapid response team to Wuhan. Possible causes were excluded one by one, including influenza, avian influenza, adenovirus, SARS, and MERS.
The first confirmed case of covid-19 outside Hubei was recorded in Guangdong in January 19.
“This is the first confirmed case of new coronary pneumonia reported in a province other than Hubei in China,” the report said.