Gov't on edge after first suspected case of mystery pneumonia

A quarantine officer checks the temperatures of passengers arriving at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, through a thermal infrared monitor. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention?said it has confirmed the first suspected case of pneumonia from China. /Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

Health authorities are struggling to confirm what pathogen is causing cases of pneumonia from China as the first suspected case of the illness was reported here, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Thursday.

The KCDC said a 36-year-old Chinese woman who had visited Wuhan, the capital of China's central Hubei Province, has been under isolated treatment amid growing concerns that she might bring the disease back to Korea.

The woman was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday following two trips to China last month.

“She is the first possible case of the illness, although she didn't show any serious health conditions except (some of) the symptoms of pneumonia such as a cough and a swollen throat,” said Kim Sung-soon an official of the KCDC's infectious disease control bureau.

The KCDC said she is currently considered a “patient under investigation” as an initial respiratory virus test turned out to be negative.

“The patient so far has tested negative for nine types of respiratory virus testing including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), influenza, human bocavirus and respiratory syncytial virus,” Kim said.

A patient classified as “under investigation” in this case means a person who developed the pneumonia within 14 days of visiting Wuhan.

However, the agency said that they are conducting eight more virus tests including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which will take about one more week.

But the woman told doctors she had no contact with animals while she was in Wuhan and didn't visit a seafood market there where most of the cases have been traced to. The KCDC said they will soon confirm whether she has the same illness as the patients in Wuhan.

The disease control center said it has been taking necessary quarantine steps, including tightened monitoring of people entering from China, and recommending travelers avoid contact with animals. It also strongly recommended people to maintain good personal hygiene, and asked them to immediately seek medical attention if they feel sick after traveling.

The KCDC said it has been working on monitoring the disease in cooperation with the health authorities in China. Based on the epidemiological investigation results from the Chinese government so far, the health agency has decided to maintain the “interest” stage, which is the incidence and epidemic of new type of infectious disease from abroad.

Since the outbreak of the illness was first identified on Dec.31, there were 59 cases reported in Wuhan. Among them, eight patients have been cured of the disease and were discharged from hospital, the Wuhan's municipal health commission said Wednesday.

After the preliminary investigation having been carried out, China has identified the possible cause as a new type of coronavirus, according to the state broadcaster CCTV Thursday.

Coronaviruses spread through coughing, sneezing or by touching an infected person. Some cause the common cold but others can lead to a serious respiratory disease.

Chinese health authorities have not yet confirmed the report.