Did They Discover This Virus Back In 2013? Greater Than 50% Mortality Rate?

The emerging “novel coronavirus”, a SARS-like virus , which has appeared in patients in the U.K. and the Middle East is a cause for concern, said the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in spite of no reported cases in the U.S.

To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 14 confirmed cases of human infection with novel coronavirus, or NCoV, including eight deaths. Of the total number, seven cases, including five deaths, have been reported from Saudi Arabia.

The most recent patient was a 69-year-old male from Saudi Arabia who was hospitalized on Feb. 10 and died 9 days later, according to the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. The new NCoV is part of a family of viruses that cause a variety of ailments including the common cold and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). A global SARS outbreak in 2003 killed about 800 people worldwide, including dozens in Taiwan.

In a report released Thursday, the CDC said that anyone who developed severe acute lower respiratory illness within “10 days after traveling from the Arabian Peninsula or neighboring countries should continue to be evaluated according to current guidelines. “