"New Coronavirus, Human-to-Human Transmission Started Since Last Month"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] A paper has been published stating that human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) had already begun last month.

On the 31st, Chinese media including Jaegyeong Ilbo reported that a paper by Chinese scholars containing this information was published in the prestigious medical journal 'The New England Journal of Medicine' (NEJM).

The paper states, "There is clear evidence that the novel coronavirus was already transmitted among close contacts since mid-December," and "An investigation of 425 confirmed patients showed that human-to-human transmission had already started in mid-December and gradually spread over the following month."

It also explains that "Among patients who developed symptoms in December, 55% were related to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but among patients who developed symptoms after January 1, only 8.6% were related to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market," indicating that human-to-human infection was spreading rapidly. It further states, "the reinfection number called 'Ro' is estimated to be about 2.2." Ro is a measure showing how quickly an infection spreads, and when it is above 1, it is estimated that there is a high possibility of an epidemic.

The paper also mentions that the infection of healthcare workers is important evidence clarifying the possibility of human-to-human transmission, reporting that 7 healthcare workers were already infected by January 11, and an additional 8 healthcare workers were infected between the 12th and 22nd.

However, criticism has arisen that the Chinese government deliberately concealed the facts, as the government disclosed the possibility of human-to-human transmission and healthcare worker infections much later than the dates recorded in the paper. In particular, the fact that several authors of the paper are researchers affiliated with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that the government was aware of the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus but disclosed it belatedly.

Until mid-January, Chinese health authorities had stated that there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus. Then, on the 16th of this month, they changed their stance to "No evidence of human-to-human transmission has been found, but the possibility cannot be excluded. However, the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission is relatively low."

The infection of healthcare workers did not come to light until January 20, when Zhong Nanshan, a prominent scientist and head of the high-level expert team of the Chinese National Health Commission, revealed in an interview with Chinese media that 15 healthcare workers had been infected. Prior to the 20th, Chinese health authorities had maintained the position in multiple public announcements that “no healthcare worker infections had been detected.”

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