A man who returned recently from the Middle East and Pakistan is under intensive care in a Manchester hospital, where he has been confirmed as the first British resident to be infec- ted by a new form of virus.
He is only the 10th confirmed case with this type of acute respiratory illness, from which five people have died.
The latest case is the second to be identified with the coronavirus in Britain. Authorities notified the World Health Organisation on Friday. A Qatari man (49) who was flown from Doha to London in September is still in hospital.
The man in the latest case is reported to have first fallen ill on January 26th and was diagnosed with a severe respiratory illness on January 31st.
John Watson, of the Health Protection Agency, said it was providing advice to healthcare workers “to ensure the patient under investigation is being treated appropriately and that healthcare staff who are looking after the patient are protected”.
Those in contact with him were being followed up.
Coronaviruses are typically spread like other respiratory infections, such as flu, travelling in airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. – (Guardian service/Reuters)