# Is anyone else concerned with this new virus in China that is becoming a bigger problem every day? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841 "2020-01-23T12:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/221 "2020-01-29T11:14:06Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Mijin, where is there news that the government has extended the CNY holiday for factories? I see the standard holiday has been extended to 2 Feb, but factories are typically shut for a 10-15 day period over Chinese New Year, while the official CNY holiday is only 5 days (right?). Among my friends, the time off work is time leading up to the new year. Extending the holiday more than a few days after would be unusual. Among our suppliers, the workers are expected to make up the time lost in holidays by working weekends. Nobody takes a 15 day period. Perhaps 15 days is big companies or the self-employed or something? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/222 "2020-01-29T12:33:40Z")
I’ve never been into handshaking, usually offering up a fist bump to someone who wants to shake. Lately I’ve been even more anti-handshaking. Shake my hand and I’m then going to wanna wash my hands. So, yesterday I was already in a bad mood when a client at work _aggressively_ wanted to shake. I walk up to her while perusing some paperwork, and she _ **thrusts** _ out her hand, which I pointedly ignore. I begin answering the question she needed answered, all the while ignoring the hand, which she _kept rigidly extended_. Eventually she said, “you’re not going to shake my hand?” By now I was kind of pissed off, so I answered, “extra quick on the uptake, today?!” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/223 "2020-01-29T13:53:34Z")
The virus is called 2019-nCoV. I wonder how long until the conspiracy folk claim that it was developed by Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste, (Danish Defence Intelligence Service) and smuggled into China via workers for Fuji Electric. Ergo, it’s official name should be … 2019-nC[oVfefe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covfefe) Turns out we were just being warned 2 1/2 years in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/224 "2020-01-29T14:05:20Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve never been into handshaking, usually offering up a fist bump to someone who wants to shake. Lately I’ve been even more anti-handshaking. Shake my hand and I’m then going to wanna wash my hands. > > So, yesterday I was already in a bad mood when a client at work _aggressively_ wanted to shake. I walk up to her while perusing some paperwork, and she _ **thrusts** _ out her hand, which I pointedly ignore. > > I begin answering the question she needed answered, all the while ignoring the hand, which she _kept rigidly extended_. Eventually she said, “you’re not going to shake my hand?” By now I was kind of pissed off, so I answered, “extra quick on the uptake, today?!” Handshaking is a standard social gesture in the West, and refusing a handshake would be taken by most people as a none too subtle FU. If you don’t shake hands for hygiene reasons, that’s fine, I think it’s best to inform the other person of that, otherwise…yeah IMO it’s rude behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/225 "2020-01-29T14:30:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Also a death rate of 2.3% rather than 3% - contrary to fears of an increase, this would be consistent with more of the less serious infections being found. Of course that could change, and no doubt those who have severe illness but recover are miserable and I don’t want to trivialize their suffering, but longer that rate stays the low the more encouraged I am. I have to wonder how many cases are never diagnosed because they are not serious enough to require medical intervention. It could be anywhere from 10% to 90% without doing some mass sampling we may never know. also don’t think they know much about the transmission rate. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/226 "2020-01-29T14:41:30Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Handshaking is a standard social gesture in the West, and refusing a handshake would be taken by most people as a none too subtle FU. > > If you don’t shake hands for hygiene reasons, that’s fine, I think it’s best to inform the other person of that, otherwise…yeah IMO it’s rude behaviour. If she held up her hand, then put it back down, then later asked, I would have explained my POV. She stood like a statue with her hand out while I talked for a few minutes. That’s passive/aggressive bullshit IMO and so fuck her. My reason isn’t pure hygiene, though it is in part. I just don’t want to touch a stranger. That may be weird, but it I’m perfectly happy. And in the West, my _behavior_ is rude. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/228 "2020-01-29T14:56:54Z")
> [@Erren](#): > > Is it just me, or does it seem that some “new” disease comes out of China every couple years or so? I think a population of 1.4(?) billion might have an impact on that. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/229 "2020-01-29T15:06:49Z")
> [@Erren](#): > > Is it just me, or does it seem that some “new” disease comes out of China every couple years or so? New strains of flu come out of that part of the world all the time. Every year, in fact. Some are more aggressive than others. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/231 "2020-01-29T15:32:53Z")
\*\*Erren \*\*has a point, IMHO. It’s likely a matter of media coverage and perceptual biases. But consider: When’s the last time an illness originating in, say, India (1.3 billion) got this kind of media coverage? I may safely assume plenty of flu strains start in India, yes? As well as the U.S., Western Europe, Russia, South America, Africa, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/232 "2020-01-29T16:15:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If she held up her hand, then put it back down, then later asked, I would have explained my POV. She stood like a statue with her hand out while I talked for a few minutes. That’s passive/aggressive bullshit IMO and so fuck her. If I were her, I would have put my hand down and possibly asked why you refused my handshake. But I wouldn’t consider her continuing to hold out her hand passive-aggressive; she may just have been in shock. Ignoring a handshake and saying nothing is barely above turning your back on someone while they are mid-sentence. > [@bordelond](#): > > It’s likely a matter of media coverage and perceptual biases. But consider: When’s the last time an illness originating in, say, India (1.3 billion) got this kind of media coverage? > > I may safely assume plenty of flu strains start in India, yes? As well as the U.S., Western Europe, Russia, South America, Africa, etc.? Again, the reason why this virus is getting so much media coverage is that it is _new to humans_. A virus that is new to humans might just end up with a similar death toll to seasonal influenza (which is quite high, but as a society it seems we’re used to it). It might get wiped out completely. Or it might be more virulent, more contagious, have unknown chronic effects and spread around the globe. And it is too soon to say if this is the case for 2019-nCOV. Because with novel viruses, their characteristics often change dramatically in the first few months. The chance of a sudden increase in virulence is much higher than with viruses that have been adapting alongside humans for thousands of years. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/233 "2020-01-29T16:39:15Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Again, the reason why this virus is getting so much media coverage is that it is _new to humans_. This just changes the parameters of \*\*Erren’s \*\*point slightly: When’s the last time a ‘new to humans’ virus originating in India made news? IOW, the ‘populous country’ explanation seems to be incomplete to the layman. Or else when similar things happen in India, they are covered differently by the international press. From an academic perspective, I’m sure that the apparent frequency of ‘new to humans’ virus origination in China is a very complicated thing with many vectors that defies simple explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/234 "2020-01-29T16:40:14Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > . . . Does anyone know what that means? How are thousands getting sick if there is no human to human transmission? > > I know that it probably jumped from another species, but it didn’t jump to thousands of people at once? There’s speculation it might be coming from “wildlife markets”, where hunted or snared meat is sold. Here’s a post from [TYWKIWDBI](http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-visit-to-wet-market-in-guangzhou-1986.html) - an intermittent blog. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/235 "2020-01-29T17:29:01Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Again, the reason why this virus is getting so much media coverage is that it is _new to humans_. I saw an article yesterday that referred to it as the Coronavirus and said it was the same virus as SARS from several years ago. Is that possibly true? I didn’t understand how it could be a new virus if it really is the same one responsible for the SARS outbreak several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/236 "2020-01-29T17:33:06Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > When’s the last time a ‘new to humans’ virus originating in India made news? Not recently. > **[That Flu You Caught? It Came from East and Southeast Asia](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/that-flu-you-caught-it-ca/)** > > Scientists figure out the yearly travel plans for seasonal flu, which could lead to better vaccines India doesn’t seem to be a source of new strains for a variety of reason, not all of them very clear. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/237 "2020-01-29T17:39:16Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > This just changes the parameters of \*\*Erren’s \*\*point slightly: When’s the last time a ‘new to humans’ virus originating in India made news? From googling, I can’t find any examples of any. If you look at the map on [this link](https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/253/253ps10/tab-figures-data), it seems India has been quite fortunate in terms of newly emerging viruses. There was an outbreak of [Nipah virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipah_virus_infection) in 2018, but that was a new outbreak of a virus first seen in Malaysia in 1998. The discovery of a virus that is thought to be new to humans does not happen very frequently, so the question of why the ones from India don’t get much press is perhaps based on a misconception. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/238 "2020-01-29T17:48:40Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > But with that being said, the numbers still aren’t high enough to worry me. I have to assume exponentially higher numbers of people die from the flu every week. This. 8800 died in the US this year alone from the normal flu. Why should we be worried when only 131 people have died world-wide? That being said, I’m flying to Thailand on Saturday, so wish me luck! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/239 "2020-01-29T17:51:36Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > The discovery of a virus that is thought to be new to humans does not happen very frequently, so the question of why the ones from India don’t get much press is perhaps based on a misconception. India was only invoked to challenge the “_China gets these new viruses because it has 1.4 billion people_” point raised above. The overall complexity of the issue is certainly acknowledged. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/240 "2020-01-29T17:56:33Z")
Regarding the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS, aka ‘the camel flu’) that’s been referred to several times upthread … I had never even heard of that virus until reading this thread. Apparently, there have been three outbreaks\*\* of this virus since 2012. Still, news coverage of these outbreaks completely escaped my attention. \*\* _So … what qualifies as an ‘outbreak’ anyway? Does a strain of influenza ‘outbreak’ every year in the U.S. and kill ~8,000 people?_ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/241 "2020-01-29T17:57:52Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I didn’t understand how it could be a new virus if it really is the same one responsible for the SARS outbreak several years ago. It’s the ‘same as SARS’ in the same way that Swine Flu is the same as Bird Flu. They’re two different representatives of the same family. The new one is a novel mutation, or at least one not seen in humans before, but the class of coronaviruses aren’t knew - a lot of colds are caused by coronaviruses, too. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841/242 "2020-01-29T18:09:32Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I saw an article yesterday that referred to it as the Coronavirus and said it was the same virus as SARS from several years ago. > > Is that possibly true? I didn’t understand how it could be a new virus if it really is the same one responsible for the SARS outbreak several years ago. It’s not the same as SARS, but it’s related. They’re both in a family of viruses called Coronavirus. Another in that family made the news several of years ago. It’s called [MERS](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html) (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). As it’s name suggests, it did not originate in China. Anyway, we shouldn’t be calling this one Coronavirus, since that’s the name of a family of viruses. Unfortunately, it’s probably too late to change that now. Way too many news reports are using that name. The name 2019-nCoV is what the specialists are calling it, but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. It’s probably best to call it Wuhan virus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-concerned-with-this-new-virus-in-china-that-is-becoming-a-bigger-problem-every-day/846841.md?page=13)