Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study
This retrospective, single-center study found that of the 99 patients with 2019-nCoV pneumonia, 49 (49%) had history of exposure to the Huanan seafood market. It is more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, and can result in severe and even fatal respiratory diseases.
Source:
The Lancet
SPS commentary:
In another study reported in the Lancet, researchers carried out next-generation sequencing of samples from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and cultured isolates from nine inpatients, eight of whom had visited the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan. They found that 2019-nCoV is sufficiently divergent from SARS-CoV to be considered a new human-infecting betacoronavirus. Although their analysis suggests that bats might be the original host of this virus, an animal sold at the seafood market in Wuhan might represent an intermediate host facilitating the emergence of the virus in humans.