SARS-like Virus Spreading Through Human Contact? (LONDON) -- A
man in the United Kingdom is the 11th reported patient to be
suffering from a new “SARS-like” virus and health officials are
trying to determine if the virus is being passed from person-to-
person. The virus was first reported in September when a Qatari
man and woman from Saudi Arabia were found to be suffering from
a new type of coronoavirus. Coronaviruses, which include the
common cold and SARS, can, at their worst, cause acute pneumonia
and kidney failure, the result of inflammation. Since the virus
was first reported, five of the 11 known patients have died,
with the majority needing intensive care. In the newest case,
health officials monitoring the situation expect that the virus
is being spread person-to-person. However, they emphasize that
the risk to the general public remains low. “If (the) novel
coronavirus were more infectious, we would have expected to have
seen a larger number of cases,” said John Watson, head of the
respiratory disea