Hong Kong scientists warn of "super spreader"disease in Wuhan, say over 1,300 already infected

At least 1,300 individuals in Wuhan are statistically likely to have been infected with a novel coronavirus between Jan. 1 and 17, a team of scientists at the University of Hong said at a press conference on Tuesday (January 21).

 The scientists, who based their research on their experience of studying the spread of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Hong Kong in 2003 and the spread of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in South Korea in 2015 said they had used the number of cases exported from Wuhan to other countries in order to come to their findings, taking into account air, train and road traffic.

A previous report by London Imperial College’s MRC (Medical Research Council) Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by Jan. 12 there had been 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report.

As of Jan. 21, there were more than 200 confirmed cases of patients in China and elsewhere with the new strain of coronavirus. Their symptoms included fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.

Little is known about the new virus, including its origin, but health authorities have confirmed human-to-human transmission. Some experts say the strain may not be as deadly as some other strains of coronavirus such as SARS, which killed nearly 800 people worldwide during a 2002/03 outbreak that also originated from China.