The viruses in the coronavirus family cause common colds, pneumonia, and SARS, which was a virus the Chinese had recovered from. Once again, the country is faced with a similar, and possibly an even viral, epidemic that could cause more harm. The influence of the virus already has spread to 22 countries in addition to China with more than 12,000 people being infected and at least 259 dead.
To prevent another infectious disease from spreading in the same way, the Chinese government launched a disease surveillance database after the outbreak. The Chinese government created the first version in 1959 after the Asian H2N2 pandemic that originated in China in 1957. It is estimated that 1.1 million people have been killed worldwide. But by 2002, when China saw its first SARS case, the system was outdated. So after the outbreak of SARS, the government created a new online system that allows clinics and hospitals to report real-time cases.
When the three came to a hospital in Wuhan, China with the same symptoms of pneumonia, the medical staff took vital action and followed standard procedures: entering the patient's geographic location, demographic information and infection status into a government database. These data were uploaded to China's national medical surveillance system, the National Infectious Disease Surveillance Information System database. When the system shows a higher-than-normal incidence of disease in a particular area, this will instruct government analysts and officials to conduct a closer inspection and may order additional laboratory inspections. This is how China found a fever in Wuhan within one week of the first report. Coughing patients did not have pneumonia, and they were infected with a new type of virus that humans have never seen before.
Despite being declared a threat on a global level and the massive hysteria spread across various media outlets, the outbreak of the virus is being handled in a better way than in the past. Aside from the detection and quarantine work, the progress towards developing a potential vaccine is faster, owing to all of the resources and help available from all around the globe.
