Headlines

Update on emerging respiratory viruses: avian influenza caused by the A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) viruses and the novel coronavirus. In France, the InVS, through its network of CIREs and the Regional Health Agencies (ARS), is responsible for monitoring these viruses. The objectives of this surveillance are: rapid and appropriate therapeutic management of patients, virological confirmation and characterization, early alerting of health authorities, active tracing of individuals who have been exposed, and active investigation of human-to-human transmission. The novel coronavirus (NCoV), identified in September 2012 on the Arabian Peninsula, is relatively closely related to the human coronavirus (CoV) responsible for SARS, identified in 2003. Currently, NCoV has very limited spread and appears to be less contagious than SARS, though it causes severe clinical forms of the disease. Since April 2012, approximately 40 cases have been confirmed and 20 deaths have been reported worldwide. Cases of human-to-human transmission have been primarily nosocomial in origin.In France, since October 2012, out of approximately 60 reports to the InVS (including 12 possible cases), 2 cases are currently confirmed: 1 case following a tourist trip to the United Arab Emirates and 1 secondary case, a roommate of the first case during his hospitalization.