'Kkamkkam' Cause of Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak in China... "Must Be Identified Before Lunar New Year Holiday"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] As an unidentified pneumonia outbreak originating in Wuhan, China, continues to spread, attention is focused on whether the cause can be identified before the Lunar New Year holiday (Chunjeol) in China, given that it takes more than a week to confirm the pathogen.

According to diplomatic sources in Beijing on the 6th, Chinese health authorities are conducting bacterial culture work to identify the pathogen of the unknown pneumonia virus that occurred in Wuhan.

The source said, "Currently, bacterial culture work to identify the pathogen is underway, and depending on the type of bacteria, it takes more than a week. The pathogen must be confirmed before the Lunar New Year holiday this month, when people’s movement is high, so that the Chinese government can prepare countermeasures. We hope the pathogen will be confirmed soon and publicly announced."

The source added that although the Chinese government is exercising some information control to prevent indiscriminate spread of information related to the cluster pneumonia cases, it is sharing information promptly with neighboring countries such as South Korea about the current outbreak situation.

He explained, "Although the pathogen has not yet been clearly identified, the positive aspect is that the number of severe patients is decreasing and there have been no deaths so far. The Chinese government is maintaining a vigilant stance regarding the current situation and considers it controllable."

Health authorities in Wuhan announced the previous evening that the number of patients diagnosed with viral pneumonia of unknown cause had increased to 59, with severe cases decreasing from 11 to 7. Investigations were conducted on 163 people who had contact with pneumonia patients, but none have shown symptoms such as fever or other signs suggesting pneumonia transmission so far. They also emphasized that this cluster pneumonia is not of the same nature as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) or MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).

Meanwhile, the South Korean government is closely monitoring the situation and paying attention to the safety of its nationals, as about 1,000 residents including 300 international students live in Wuhan and nearby areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.