Coronavirus could infect two-thirds of globe - Research shows
- A global scientist, Ira Longini, has said that coronavirus might spread very fast if it is not contained
- Longini said more than half of the world could be infected unless something drastic is done to curb its spread
- The scientist, however, noted that the virus has the opportunity to roam in China and beyond
A top infectious-disease scientist, Ira Longini, has warned that the deadly coronavirus in China could infect two-third of the world if something urgent isn't done to contain it, Bloomberg reports.
Legit.ng gathered that an adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ira Longini, who tracked studies of the virus’ transmissibility in China said the estimate implies that there could eventually be billions more infections than the current official tally of about 60,000.
According to the report, if the virus spreads to anywhere near that extent, it would show the limitations of China’s strict containment measures, including quarantining areas inhabited by tens of millions of people.
Longini said quarantines may slow the spread but added that the virus had the opportunity to roam in China and beyond, stressing that the country boosted its count of those infected by almost 15,000 on Thursday, February 13, after widening the diagnosis methods.
Source: UGC
His modeling is based on data showing that each infected person normally transmits the disease to two to three other people, saying that a lack of rapid tests and the relative mildness of the infection in some people also makes it difficult to track its spread.
A researcher at Imperial College London, Neil Ferguson, estimated that as many as 50,000 people may be infected each day in China.
"More data need to be gathered to gain a better idea of how far the virus is likely to range, said David Heymann, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who oversaw the WHO’s response to SARS in 2003," the report said.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Professor John Oxford, a scientist from Queen Mary University, advised people to abstain from kissing and hugging as a way to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
It was reported that the professor described his proposed method of protection as the British standoffishness.
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Source: Legit.ng
