A new virus belonging to the same family as the SARS virus that killed 800 people in 2002 has been identified in a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organisation said Sunday.
The United Nations health body, which issued a statement through its "global alert and response" system, said tests on the patient, a 49-year-old Qatari man, confirmed the presence of a new, or novel, coronavirus.
It said the U.K. scientists compared gene sequences of the virus from the Qatari patient with samples of virus sequenced by Dutch scientists from lung tissue of a fatal case earlier this year in a 60-year-old Saudi Arabia national. The two were almost identical, it said.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which includes the common cold and SARS.
"Given that this is a novel coronavirus, WHO is currently in the process of obtaining further information to determine the public health implications," the statement said.
A statement by U.K. government experts said the symptoms included fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms.
The Qatari patient, who was moved to the U.K. for treatment, was in "strict respiratory isolation" with staff looking after him wearing protective clothing, it added. More >>
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