Spread of the Corona Virus

By PBS NewsHour, adapted by Newsela staff

U.S. researchers created a map that follows the spread of a new virus in China in real-time. A virus is an infection that causes illness. 

On January 7, China said that it had found a new virus that was making people sick. This virus is part of the coronavirus family. As of January 29, it had sickened almost 6,000 people and 131 people had died from it. Researchers think that the virus might be spreading faster than we think.

Mapping The Spread Of The Virus

Global health officials are concerned about the virus spreading around the world. They want to prevent that from happening. They are closely tracking who gets sick and where the sickness has spread. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University created a map that shows this information. They released the map on January 22. The map is live, which means it is constantly updated to reflect new information.

Lauren Gardner is a professor at Johns Hopkins University. She led the team that produced the map. 

"We think it is important for the public to have an understanding of the situation as it unfolds," Gardner said. 

The map shows the number of people that have died from the virus. This number is reported by China. The map also shows the rate at which the virus is spreading.

From A Market In Wuhan, China

The outbreak is centered in Wuhan, China, where the virus was traced back to a market that sold live animals. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, called the CDC for short, is the primary institute for public health in the U.S. The CDC reported that outside of China, cases have been reported in the U.S., Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

The coronavirus spreads through water droplets that fly into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. When those droplets are breathed in through another person's nose or mouth or wiped into their eyes, the virus spreads.

Symptoms Like The Common Flu

Gardner said the map is a very simple collection of reported cases. To make the map, Gardner and her team looked through local Chinese media reports. Those reports were then translated into English. Then they mapped the locations of each reported case. As new reports come in, the map is updated, Gardner said.

The public health community still does not know much about novel coronavirus. For this reason, Gardner said it is hard to keep the map up to date. People may not know they are infected until they show signs of sickness. Another important thing to keep in mind is that novel coronavirus has very similar symptoms as the common flu. As a result, many people may not realize they have it.

"There's not a lot of other global cases reported yet," Gardner said. However, global cases will increase because people travel.

Traveling For The Lunar New Year

The virus happened at a dangerous time. This week, millions of people will embark on international travel. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, many people will travel to and from East Asia. This time of year is the world's largest yearly human migration.

In China, officials have taken extreme measures to prevent the virus from continuing to spread. They have stopped train, bus, boat and airplane travel from Wuhan. These measures effectively seal off the city from the rest of China.

The World Health Organization, called WHO for short, is also tracking the virus. 

Two Reported Cases In The U.S.

"Public transport and other mass gatherings should be avoided," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom.

As of January 24, there were two reported cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. One person in Washington state has been infected with the virus after traveling to Wuhan. A woman in Chicago, Illinois, was also diagnosed with the virus after traveling back to the U.S. from Wuhan. 

The CDC increased its travel warning to U.S. residents. Great Britain also issued a warning against travel to Wuhan.

As the outbreak spreads beyond China, Gardner said her team will update the map. They will rely on data from WHO and CDC to update the map.