WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on March 3 that the WHO is deepening its knowledge of the new coronavirus pneumonia and has discovered four important differences from seasonal flu.
First, existing data indicate that the transmission of the new coronavirus is less efficient than seasonal influenza. Tedros said that asymptomatic infections are the main spreaders of the influenza virus, but not the new coronavirus.
"Evidence from China shows that only about 1% of confirmed cases are asymptomatic, and most of these cases show symptoms within two days."
Second, the disease caused by the new coronavirus is more severe than seasonal flu. Tedros said that the current global fatal rate of new coronavirus pneumonia is about 3.4%, while the seasonal flu rate is usually well below 1%.
Many people around the world already have immunity to seasonal influenza virus strains, and the new coronavirus is a new virus.
This means that the new type of coronavirus pneumonia is more susceptible to some people, and some people will be severely ill.
Third, there are no vaccines or specialized therapies for new coronaviruses. Tedros says more than 20 vaccines against the new coronavirus are currently being developed, and some therapies are undergoing clinical trials.
Fourth, the flu is uncontrollable, but the epidemic of new coronavirus pneumonia can be controlled. "We do not track contacts for seasonal flu, but countries should track close contacts of patients with the new coronavirus pneumonia so that they can stop transmission and save lives," Tedros said.
Tedros emphasized that just because the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic could be controlled, WHO called on countries to adopt comprehensive prevention and control measures, especially those countries that have established influenza detection and prevention systems can make corresponding adjustments to existing systems without having to start from scratch.
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