A new coronavirus, spreading in China, appears to be less worrisome than the SARS outbreak of 2003, and the risk to British Columbians is considered to be low, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer.
On Tuesday, a case of the coronavirus was reported in Seattle. No cases have been reported in Canada.
Henry, who was on the front line in Toronto dealing with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003, said lessons have been learned from that experience. “The big difference is now that we have openness from China, we’ve identified a virus,” she said. “The Chinese government has shared the genomic sequence of the virus, so tests are available.
“When we had the first cases in Toronto of SARS, we didn’t even know if it was a virus and what virus it was.”
This time, while not everything about the respiratory illness is known, it doesn’t appear to be as easily transmitted between people, said Henry. Nor does it seem to have as high a fatality rate, she said.
“So people aren’t getting as sick or dying at the rates we were seeing with other coronavirus illnesses, like SARS or MERS [Middle East respiratory syndrome].”
The Seattle case involved a traveller who had been to the outbreak area in Wuhan, a city in central China.
Canada should expect some cases, Henry said. “I expect that it is very likely we’ll see a case in Canada.”
While there are no direct flights to Canada from Wuhan, there are direct flights from a number of other Chinese cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. Those flights go to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
“So we’ve increased the screening at those airports for people just to be aware,” Henry said. Travellers will be assessed if they have been to Wuhan province and if they show symptoms of a coronavirus illness, she said.
Symptoms include cough, fever and sore throat.
Cases have also turned up in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand.
While it’s common for coronaviruses to lead to only mild illness, that’s not what happens in certain cases when the virus transmits from animal to human, Henry said.
SARS and MERS both developed from animal-to-human contact, and it’s thought the latest strain could be associated with rats, Henry said. “We still don’t know the full picture and that’s why we need to be so careful.”
The current virus is in the SARS family.
While Canadians should be concerned and watchful, Henry said she has confidence B.C. and Canada are well-equipped to detect the virus, care for those who arrive with it and prevent its spread — “which is the most important thing.”
Andrew Marton, a professor in Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Victoria, said travellers between B.C. and China are likely to come into contact with people who have been in Wuhan.
Marton said Wuhan is centrally located, has about 10 million people and is well connected to other parts of China, Asia and the world by road, high-speed rail and air.
This weekend is the beginning of the Lunar New Year celebration, a major Chinese festival comparable with North American Christmas and Thanksgiving in the way families come together, he said. “My sense is, in the communities that I’m familiar with where I live and work, there is a very high likelihood there will be some connection, some contact with residents of Wuhan.”
Health-care workers are being asked to take a travel history from anyone who reports respiratory symptoms.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said it has developed a diagnostic test for the new coronavirus. “Providers who suspect a case are asked to report it to their local medical health officers immediately,” it said in a statement.
Health-care professionals know that coronaviruses can sometimes cause “explosive outbreaks,” so they are watched closely, Henry said. “We don’t have a vaccine, we don’t have a specific treatment for a coronavirus, so that makes it a little more worrisome.”
She said the World Health Organization Emergency Committee meets today, and will determine whether the outbreak is of international public health concern.
— With files from Richard Watts
