UW Forum – Coronavirus and Pandemic Disease Preparedness: What We Know and the Way Forward

The UW MetaCenter for Pandemic Disease Preparedness and Global Health Security is convening this forum in recognition of the need to bring colleagues from diverse disciplines and sectors together to shed light on this rapidly evolving epidemic; to explore the many unanswered questions and to discuss the way forward.   Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. [Seating limited. RSVP. But will be live streamed.]

More Coronavirus newsRise in new coronavirus cases in China reflects ‘broader definition’ of infection: WHO

A jump in the number of new cases of coronavirus in China reflects a “broader definition” of a case of infection, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday. “It is our current understanding that the new case definition widens the net, and includes not only lab-confirmed cases but also clinically diagnosed cases based on symptoms and exposure,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters.

WHO says coronavirus cases stabilising in China, but outbreak could go any way

The number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus in China has stabilised, but the apparent slowdown in the epidemic spread should be viewed with “extreme caution”, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.  “This outbreak could still go in any direction,” the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a briefing in Geneva. Reuters.

The CDC is preparing for coronavirus ‘to take a foothold in the US’

During a press call on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters that it is preparing for the coronavirus to have a greater impact in the U.S. than the 15 confirmed cases. TheHill.

Top Hong Kong medical expert predicts more than half the global population will contract coronavirus

The rapidly spreading coronavirus may infect more than 60% of the global population, a top Hong Kong medical expert said this week epidemiologist Gabriel Leung  Leung believes the disease’s fatality rate will eventually hover around 1%. If Leung’s predictions are correct, that means upward of 40 million people will die from coronavirus. TheBlaze.

44 New Cases of Coronavirus Confirmed on Quarantined Cruise Ship

Forty-four more people have tested positive for the coronavirus aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, Princess Cruises. The total number of cases on the ship, which has 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew members on board, is now at 219. Yahoo.

Televangelist Sells $125 ‘Silver Solution’ as Cure for Coronavirus

A guest on televangelist Jim Bakker’s show suggested on Wednesday that a product sold on Bakker’s website might be effective at protecting against and killing the novel coronavirus. The guest, naturopathic Dr. Sherrill Sellman, said that Silver Solution—a product that can be purchased on Bakker’s web store—has been found to be effective on viruses related to the one from Wuhan. Further, she said Silver Solution could bolster a person’s immune system and potentially make their bodies less susceptible to the virus. Newsweek.

Amid Coronavirus Response, Officials Careful Not to Compromise Influenza Efforts

Against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak that has captured the full attention of state heads, health experts and drugmakers across the world who are working in concert to contain the infection wreaking havoc across Asia, another quieter, international effort is getting underway: the development of the seasonal influenza vaccine for 2020-21. And this spring, scientists bracing for the standard slate of uncertainties are working to ensure the vital vaccine doesn’t take a backseat in the shadow of a disease outbreak. MorningConsult.