Here is the entire Daily Mail article I quoted from above. There's some outdated information, some hype, some severe downplaying of the risk, and some good info in this article. I miss the days when you just had good info in articles.
Ash Shorley, 32, of Lancashire, is in critical condition in a hospital in Phuket, Thailand. His lung infection is similar to the Chinese coronavirus, but is not confirmed.
www.dailymail.co.uk
(fair use applies)
British tourist fighting for life in Thailand is feared to be first western victim of new Chinese coronavirus as third patient DIES and outbreak spreads to South Korea
By Connor Boyd and Vanessa Chalmers Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 20:55 EST, 19 January 2020 | Updated: 10:12 EST, 20 January 2020
- Ash Shorley, 32, is in critical condition in a hospital in Phuket, Thailand
- His lung infection is similar to the Chinese coronavirus, but is not confirmed
- The unnamed novel virus has infected an estimated 1,700 in Wuhan, China
- Authorities revealed the virus has spread to other cities in China this weekend
- The total confirmed cases has tipped 200 and three have died
- Four confirmed cases are outside China in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea
A British tourist fighting for his life in Thailand is feared to be the first Western victim of the coronavirus sweeping across China.
Ash Shorley, 32, is in critical condition in a hospital in Phuket after being struck down with a lung infection while visiting Koh Phi Phi island.
Mr Shorley had to be transported to hospital by a specialised seaplane because his lung had collapsed and he could not cope with high altitude travel.
Doctors revealed his symptoms were consistent with the Chinese coronavirus – but this has not yet been confirmed. He has been in hospital for nearly a month.
The unnamed SARS-like virus has killed three people and has infected an estimated 1,700 in Wuhan city since December, researchers fear.
Some 222 cases have been confirmed. Authorities today said the virus has spread across China, with five cases in Beijing, 14 in Shenzhen and one in Shanghai.
South Korea has also recorded a case today, making it the third country to diagnose the virus following Thailand and Japan last week.
The spike in cases comes just days before millions of Chinese nationals travel abroad for the Lunar New Year holidays, with airports across Asia and the US to screen travellers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said saving lives was a top priority, adding that information about the disease was being released in a 'timely manner'.
Mr Shorley's parents Chris and Julie, from Thornton, Lancashire, have flown out to be by their son's bedside as tests are carried out.
The unnamed novel virus has infected an estimated 1,700 in Wuhan, China. Authorities said the virus had spread to other cities in China. The total confirmed cases has tipped 200 and three have died. Four confirmed cases are outside China in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea
Mr Shorley's father, 55, told The Sun: 'He was two days from death. If he wasn’t so fit, he wouldn’t be with us now. We are now waiting on tests. It is very serious.'
The publisher, from Lancashire, added: 'They [doctors] think he is the first Western victim of the Chinese flu, we are waiting on tests.'
Mr Shorley, who is as 'skinny as a rake', sold his house to travel round Asia following his break-up with his long-term partner before Christmas.
Mr Shorley, a sales manager and actor who has appeared in TV soaps Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, was struck down at the end of last month.
He is still in hospital after an operation to remove blockages in his lungs. It is unclear when his test results for coronavirus will come back.
His parents, who are being supported during their stay in Thailand with the help of a GoFundMe page, say he has lost 5st (70lbs/32kg).
Collapsed lungs can be caused by a build-up of pressure on the airways, including from an accumulation of fluid.
Experts say Mr Shorley's symptoms are similar with the coronavirus, but could also be a sign of many other respiratory infections.
Professor John Edmunds, of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 'There is no evidence of any transmission of this virus in Thailand as yet.
'Hence, although it is possible that this is a case of the novel coronavirus, it would seem very unlikely.'
The coronavirus – which has never been seen before – was first discovered in the city of Wuhan in December.
There were 48 confirmed cases on Friday, but hundreds of infections were reported over the weekend because screening is now possible.
Now, 222 cases have been confirmed including three deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, there are growing fears that Chinese authorities are hiding the true scale of the outbreak, which has links to the deadly SARS virus.
An analysis from Imperial College London last week estimated the number of cases in Wuhan was probably around 1,700 – but could even be as high as 4,500.
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today the country had 'stuck to a serious, earnest and professional attitude' to prevent and control the outbreak.
They said they had 'carried out in-depth epidemiological investigation, released the information related to the control and treatment of the outbreak in time and actively spread related educational knowledge'.
President Xi Jinping commented on the outbreak for the first time on January 20. He said the country was releasing information 'in a timely manner' to ensure a 'peaceful Spring festival'.
'The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously,' Mr Junping said, according to CCTV.
'Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’s lives and health first.'
South Korea confirmed its first case on January 20 after a 35-year-old woman arriving at Seoul’s Incheon airport tested positive for the virus. She had been in Wuhan last week.
Last week, one case was confirmed in Japan and two in Thailand, meaning the total number of confirmed cases outside of China now sits at four.
All of the Chinese nationals had recently visited Wuhan, but it is not clear if Mr Shorley visited the city – home to 11million people – on his travels.
China reported on January 20 the mysterious virus had spread across the country from Wuhan.
Five new cases were confirmed in Beijing. It was revealed by health authorities in Beijing's Daxing distract that two had travelled to Wuhan and were in a stable condition.
Fourteen in the Guangdong province had been confirmed, state television state reported, including a 66-year-old Shenzhen man who was quarantined on January 11 after contracting a fever and showing other symptoms.
He had visited relatives in Wuhan, the provincial health commission said. He is also in stable condition.
Shenzhen officials said another eight people were under medical observation.
'Experts believe that the current epidemic situation is still preventable and controllable,' the Guangdong health commission said.
Suspected cases have also cropped up in Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanghai, Guangxi and Shandong. Tests have yet to confirm the patients have the coronavirus.
Five other people have been put in isolation and tested in eastern Zhejiang province.
The majority of the infected patients in Wuhan were connected to Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, suggesting meat or fish was the source of the virus.
However, two of the confirmed cases in Guangdong had never been to Wuhan. Their family members had and been struck down by the lung infection, suggesting human to human transmission.
Professor Zhong Nanshan, a renowned scientist at the national health commission who helped expose the scale of the 2003 outbreak of SARS, said human-to-human transmission is 'affirmative', according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Since cases have been identified outside the country, the WHO has warned hospitals worldwide to prepare for a potential global spread.
Fears are growing ahead of Lunar New Year, on January 25, which will see millions of Chinese citizens travelling abroad.
Wuhan authorities said they have installed infrared thermometers at airports, railway stations and coach stations across the city.
Passengers with fevers were being registered, given masks and taken to medical institutions.
Airports in Singapore, Hong Kong – where there have been suspected but no confirmed cases – Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and the US have also stepped up surveillance.
Temperature checks are being used for inbound travellers from the Chinese mainland, especially Wuhan. This is how the two cases in Thailand were discovered.
However, these measures rely on an infected person having symptoms at the time they travel.
Evidence suggests there is an average 10-day delay between a person becoming infected and detected. It takes up to six days for the symptoms to become apparent, and a further four or five for the person to be hospitalised.
[MY COMMENT: Ash was only in Thailand 7 days before he was sick enough to go to the hospital so it seems unlikely he has the disease as described.]
The UK is not on high alert. However, Public Health England and the National Travel Health Network and Centre have urged British tourists to China to practise good hygiene.
'Based on the available evidence, the current risk to the UK is very low,' Dr Nick Phin, the deputy director of the National Infection Service, said on January 20.
'We are working with the WHO and other international partners, have issued advice to the NHS and are keeping the situation under constant review.'
The coronavirus, which causes cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever, has never been seen before and has not yet been named.
Officials have described the virus in China, a tourist hotspot for some 595,000 British tourists each year, as 'novel'.
Tests have so far shown it is a new type of coronavirus from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen which killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s.
The first patient diagnosed with the novel strain, a 61-year-old man, died on January 9. The second death, a man known only as Xiong, died on January 15.
Both suffered other health problems, the former from abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease and the latter of severe cardiomyopathy – a heart condition, abnormal kidney function, and seriously damaged organs.
But it is not clear if these were complications of the virus or underlying conditions.
Details of the third death have not yet been revealed by officials.
The WHO said on Twitter on January 20 that 'an animal source seems the most likely primary source' with 'some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts'.
Although the genetic sequence of the strain has now been released, scientists are still questioning how deadly it is, and whether it can be spread between humans.
Scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London warned in a paper published Friday that the number of cases identified in Wuhan may be the 'tip of the iceberg'.
Researchers calculated cases could be as high as 4,500 in Wuhan city, and if this is the case, substantial human to human transmission can't be ruled out.
Chinese state media moved to calm the mood as discussion about the coronavirus spreading to other Chinese cities swelled on social media.
Nationalist tabloid Global Times called for better handling of the new virus than that of the 2003 SARS outbreak.
IS THE UK AT RISK?
There is 'very low' risk of the novel coronavirus reaching the UK, experts have said.
'Based on the available evidence, the current risk to the UK is very low,' Dr Nick Phin, the deputy director of the National Infection Service, said on January 20.
'We are working with the WHO and other international partners, have issued advice to the NHS and are keeping the situation under constant review.'
Over 595,000 British nationals visit mainland China every year, according to 2017 government statistics.
Despite it being unlikely for a person to return from China to the UK with the virus, tourists have been advised to take precautions while there, such as practicing good hand and personal hygiene and minimise contact with birds and animals in markets in Wuhan.
'People travelling to Wuhan should maintain good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene and should seek medical attention if they develop respiratory symptoms within 14 days of visiting the area,' Dr Phin said.
Dr Nathalie MacDermott, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, King’s College London, said: 'The UK population currently is not exposed to the virus as there have not been any confirmed cases in the UK at present.
'However there is potential for exposure given the volume and frequency of international air travel and the potential for someone travelling from an affected region arriving in the UK prior to them developing symptoms.'
