A patient is in intensive care in Manchester after succumbing to a mysterious virus that has originated in the Middle East.
The patient is the second to be diagnosed with the new coronavirus in the UK. The first one was identified in September.
Just ten cases of infection have been confirmed globally.
Professor John Watson, of the Health Protection Agency, said: “Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travellers to the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low.
"No travel restrictions are in place but people who develop severe respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, within ten days of returning from these countries should seek medical advice and mention which countries they have visited."
Coronaviruses can cause the common cold but also more severe illness such as SARS.
The agency said it had wasted no time in unravelling the genetic map of the new virus last year.
Leave a Reply