The outbreak of a viral pneumonia-like illness was first reported in December in Wuhan, a major city in central China. Health officials quickly identified the pathogen as a coronavirus related to the virus that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which began in southern China in 2002, killing nearly 800 people and turning bustling cities across Asia into ghost towns.
The new virus sickened more than 500 people in China and led to 17 deaths as of Jan. 22 and had been detected in Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. A day earlier, the first U.S. case was reported in a Washington State resident who’d visited China. As the virus spreads, the world watches warily, nervous that Beijing will repeat the public health fiasco of SARS.
There was a lot in common between the 2003 SARS and 2019 Wuhan Virus. Those who have been called heroes still exist. They are the ones who work hard day and night to build hospitals, work in those hospitals, and transport supplies between states. When natural disasters happen, we should support those people who are fighting to help. The Wuhan virus is just one of those times.
Work cite:
| Campbell, Charlie, and Amy Gunia. “TheBrief Opener.” TheBrief Opener, 3 Feb. 2020, pp. 10–11.Qin, Amy. “China Pledged to Build a New Hospital in 10 Days. It’s Close.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/world/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-hospital.html. |