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WHO / CORONAVIRUS
STORY: WHO / CORONAVIRUS
TRT: 2.22
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 MAY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, aerial view WHO Headquarters
13 MAY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“Anytime a new virus starts infecting humans, we have to take it seriously and especially a virus which has killed 60 percent of the people it infects. We need to understand how this virus infects humans and how we can stop it infecting humans.”
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
3. Close up, WHO flag
13 MAY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We have several instances, of what we call limited human to human transmission, this means that the virus can transmit apparently from one person to another if you are very close to that person, if you are a care giver, if you spend a lot of time in the same small enclosed space. A part from that, we do not see the virus transmitting casually from you to me and in open spaces or in the street. So there is no general community transmission.”
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
5. Close up, WHO flag
13 MAY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We have called on all Member States, to increase their surveillance, in the sense that they need to be on the lookout for any unexplained cases of severe respiratory illness. They also should be working with their hospitals, all clinicians to help clinicians understand what the symptoms are, and what precautions should be taken if a person, for example, has a severe respiratory illness and a travel history to areas which have already experienced cases.”
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
7. Close up, WHO flag
13 MAY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We need to understand urgently how people contract this virus, we don’t need to know the origin of the virus, which is not the same thing, but we need to understand what interactions with the virus cause a human to become infected. For the moment we see men, much more affected than women. We don’t understand exactly why this is the case. We also think that perhaps underlying medical conditions, or weaknesses, might play a role and we need to understand this, and above all we need to know what actions of people bring them into contact with this virus and where. How do they get infected? Only once we know that can we stop these interactions from occurring and can we hope to control this outbreak.”
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
9. Close up, WHO flag
The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia has informed WHO of an additional two laboratory confirmed cases of infection with the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“Anytime a new virus starts infecting humans, we have to take it seriously and especially a virus which has killed 60 percent of the people it infects. We need to understand how this virus infects humans and how we can stop it infecting humans.”
The first patient is a 48-year-old man with multiple coexisting medical conditions who became ill on 29 April 2013. He is in stable condition. The second patient is a 58-year-old man with an existing medical condition who became ill on 6 April 2013.
He fully recovered and was discharged from the hospital on 3 May 2013.
The two patients are from the same cluster reported since the beginning of May 2013, which is linked to an outbreak in a health care facility. The government is conducting ongoing investigation into this outbreak. Since the beginning of May 2013, a total of 15 patients have been reported from this outbreak, of which seven have died. Of the 15 patients, 12 are men and three women. The age range of the patients is from 24 to 94 years old.
SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We have several instances, of what we call limited human to human transmission, this means that the virus can transmit apparently from one person to another if you are very close to that person, if you are a care giver, if you spend a lot of time in the same small enclosed space. A part from that, we do not see the virus transmitting casually from you to me and in open spaces or in the street. So there is no general community transmission.”
From September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a global total of 33 laboratory confirmed cases of human infection with nCoV, including 18 deaths.
Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States (MS) to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns. Health care providers are advised to be vigilant among recent travellers returning from areas affected by the virus who develop severe SARI. Specimens from patients’ lower respiratory tracts should be obtained for diagnosis where possible.
SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We have called on all Member States, to increase their surveillance, in the sense that they need to be on the lookout for any unexplained cases of severe respiratory illness. They also should be working with their hospitals, all clinicians to help clinicians understand what the symptoms are, and what precautions should be taken if a person, for example, has a severe respiratory illness and a travel history to areas which have already experienced cases.”
All Member States are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with nCoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course.
SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, WHO Spokesperson:
“We need to understand urgently how people contract this virus, we don’t need to know the origin of the virus, which is not the same thing, but we need to understand what interactions with the virus cause a human to become infected. For the moment we see men, much more affected than women. We don’t understand exactly why this is the case. We also think that perhaps underlying medical conditions, or weaknesses, might play a role and we need to understand this, and above all we need to know what actions of people bring them into contact with this virus and where. How do they get infected? Only once we know that can we stop these interactions from occurring and can we hope to control this outbreak.”
WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.
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