The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, on Thursday, said it is monitoring the outbreak of a new coronavirus, which first appeared in China.
The virus, which was first detected in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei Province, has since spread to other parts of the world with cases being reported in the United States on Tuesday.
Overall, there have been 440 confirmed cases so far and six deaths internationally.
There have been no reported cases in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to date, the ministry said.
A coronavirus belongs to a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from common cold (most common) to severe maladies.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was a type of coronavirus, which broke out in Asia in 2003.
The ministry said a person who has contracted a coronavirus may exhibit the following symptoms: runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever and a general feeling of being unwell.
These viruses may sometimes cause lower-respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis — typically in infants, the elderly and persons with cardiopulmonary disease and weakened immune systems.
The ministry said that persons planning to travel to an affected area are advised to be cautious and if symptoms develop to see a medical practitioner sharing details of your travel history.
In this situation, the ministry advises employing standard infection prevention and control measures such as:
• avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections
• washing hands often, especially after direct contact with ill persons or their environment
• covering coughs and sneezes with tissue and properly disposing of these items followed by hand washing.
Wash your Hands ALL the time.
Be careful what you eat these days as you never know what it carries!
“Humans likely got the deadly Chinese coronavirus from SNAKES sold at the Wuhan market, study suggests Huanan Seafood Market in China is in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak.
It appears to be a combination of a virus that infects bats and a mystery strain A version that infects snakes was a close match, suggesting that serpents sold at the market acted as a ‘reservoir’ and passed the virus to humans”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7918719/Humans-likely-got-deadly-Chinese-coronavirus-SNAKES.html
“Disturbing footage shows Asian man calmly dipping a baby mouse in a bowl of sauce before eating it alive – after another diner gorged on BAT”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7927747/Asian-man-dips-baby-mouse-bowl-sauce-eating-ALIVE.html
Not everything is as good as it looks.
These are some ot the important things we in SVG need to keep in mind when thinking about food safety.
“Fresh calls for China to ban sale of exotic animals including snakes and bats for food after deadly coronavirus outbreak was linked to wildlife market”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7928533/China-virus-outbreak-revives-calls-stop-exotic-wildlife-trade.html
“It’s also raising questions about how it could happen again after the lessons learned from the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which was traced to consumption of wild animals in the southern city of Guangzhou”.