By Ajita Rijal
Kathmandu, Jan. 20: With the recent World Health Organisation (WHO) reports of coronavirus in Wuhan, China and later the confirmation of novel coronavirus cases in people identified in Thailand and Japan, Nepal too is at high risk of the disease, say health experts.
The Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Control Hospital (STIDH) is on high alert and has maintained continuous vigil. It has already investigated into a case on a Nepali national who had recently returned from Wuhan.
“A man was kept under observation for suspected infection of the new strain of coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan,” said Dr. Basudev Pandey, Director of STIDH, Teku.
“We kept the man under scrutiny as he was back from Wuhan, where the virus was first detected. Although he was experiencing a high fever and had his respiratory system infected, all symptoms did not match with the disease,” said Dr Pandey.
The WHO had alerted Nepal about the possible risk of the spread of the virus.
“The flow of tourists from China is very high, due to which Nepal is at high risk of transmission of the disease,” said Dr Pandey.
“We need to be careful and take necessary precautions to stop the entry of the disease into the country.”
The detection of coronavirus cases in and outside China including Japan and Thailand is worrying, and it may come to Nepal as well, said Dr Bishnu Gautam, chief of Epidemiology and Outbreak Management Section at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD).
The EDCD has initiated health screenings of passengers flying in from China, Japan, and Thailand - where several patients have tested positive for mysterious coronavirus, said Dr Gautam, adding EDCD had provided a questionnaire to the health desk at Tribhuvan International Airport for detecting infection of the virus among the suspected inbound tourists.
Since we do not have a standard health desk, as a protective measure, health workers are suggested adopting infection control measures if any case of coronavirus is detected, said Dr Gautam.
The preventive methods include using infection control mask, gloves, washing hands frequently, using gown and spectacles while treating the suspected people, said Dr Gautam.
“We lack proper health centres and laboratories for the treatment and diagnosis of such highly infectious diseases, so we are doing homework consulting with the WHO for combating such diseases,” said Dr Gautam.
According to WHO, common signs of coronavirus infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. 
WHO has suggested standard recommendations to prevent the infection including regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs and avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
On 9 January, WHO issued a statement regarding clusters of pneumonia cases reported in Wuhan, China and that the cause of this viral pneumonia was identified as a new type of coronavirus (CoV).
The global trend shows that new coronaviruses emerge periodically in different areas, including SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012.