25 Sep 2012

WHO / CORONAVIRUS

The World Health Organization confirmed Tuesday (25 September) that the new virus found in two men from theArabian Peninsula, is not the SARS virus and differs from the SARS virus in that it causes very rapid renal failure. WHO

Posted at: September 25, 2012 1:34 pm

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STORY: WHO / CORONAVIRUS
TRT:  2:13
SOURCE: CH UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Palais

25 SEPTEMBER 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, Spokesman, World Health Organization (WHO):
"At the moment, we still don't know very much about this virus.  We do know that it is in the Corona family of viruses - Corona viruses, there are at least six viruses in this family of viruses which cause disease ranging from the common cold to SARS.  Most of them are on the mild end - this virus is therefore unusual and WHO is consequently paying attention to this because of the fact that this, in the two cases, has caused severe respiratory and renal failure."
4. Cutaway, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, Spokesman, World Health Organization (WHO):
"It is unusual and it is different from SARS and I need to emphasize again and again that this is not SARS, it will not become SARS, it is not SARS-like. It is a new virus, it is novel, it is distinct from SARS at least in the fact that we've seen so far, it causes very rapid renal failure." 
6. Cutaway, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, Spokesman, World Health Organization (WHO):
"The two confirmed cases are three months apart in time and they are both from the Arabian Peninsula. Both have some connection to Saudi Arabia but it's a Saudi Arabian national and a Qatari national who are the two confirmed cases.  So we just need to know much more at this point."
8. Cutaway, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gregory Hartl, Spokesman, World Health Organization (WHO):
"These are only two cases so far apart in time and space.  There's no indication that this transmits from person to person, we just don't know yet and there are extremely few cases, so until we have more information, it would be very premature to make any sort of recommendations or comments."
10. Various shots, journalists listening

STORYLINE:

The World Health Organization confirmed Tuesday (25 September) that the new virus found in two men from the Arabian Peninsula, is not the SARS virus and differs from the SARS virus in that it causes very rapid renal failure.

The two cases, one a healthy Qatari man who had travelled to Saudi Arabia and is currently hospitalized in the UK and the other a 60 year old Saudi national who died earlier this year, resulted in acute respiratory syndrome and renal failure.

This novel virus has been identified as one of a large family of coronaviruses, which include the viruses that cause both the common cold and SARS but the WHO Spokesman emphasized to journalists in Geneva, that the virus "will not become SARS" and is not "SARS-like".

There is no indication, at this point, Gregory Hartl said, of person-to-person transmission of the virus but WHO is currently in the process of obtaining further information to determine the public health implications of these two confirmed cases and the mode of transmission. No travel restrictions are currently in place.