Key facts

On December 31, 2019, the first suspected cases of an epidemic of viral pneumonia of unknown etiology was reported in the city of Wuhan, China (about 11 million inhabitants). The initial patient cluster was linked to the wholesale market of Huanan Seafood, selling fish and other animals. This market has been closed on January 1, 2020. Thus, the hypothesis of a zoonosis with a reservoir of animal origin was issued at the start of the epidemic. The pathogen is a new coronavirus, called 2019-nCoV. On January 7, 2020 the Chinese health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced officially the discovery of the novel coronavirus. Two days later, on January 9, 2020, the Chinese authorities reported the first death. WHO officially confirmed human-to-human transmission of the virus on January 23, 2020. The initial Wuhan cluster included 41 patients, confirmed after a specific PCR test. On January 30, WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

For updated figures, John Hopkins University developed a great interactive map.

Agnès Buzyn announces the first three French cases on January 24, 2020. These are the first European cases.

For specific updates on French cases, please consult Santé Publique France.

The role of REACTing : coordinating French research response

① Since the beginning of the 2019-nCoV outbreak, REACTing is playing a key role in the coordination and information sharing regarding 2019-nCoV outbreak in France by :

□ Closely monitoring the situation and encouraging data sharing

□ Promoting good practices and standardization of data collection in clinical research

□ Provide comprehensive information for decision-makers, the media and the public

②REACTing coordinates French research response to this 2019-nCoV and organizes fundraising involving key public stakeholders

Few examples of 2019-nCoV related research projects supported by REACTing :

□ Modeling and anticipation of import risk in Europe

□ Therapeutic targets, monoclonal antibodies and vaccine candidates

□ Observational follow-up study of patients infected with 2019-nCoV and cases contact

□ Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study (PK / PD) of patients

□ Social sciences project

Ressources

1. Scientific papers

• New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) – Coronavirus
• NEJM – A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019
• NEJM – Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia
• NEJM – Importation and Human-to-Human Transmission of a Novel Coronavirus in Vietnam
• NEJM – First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States
• NEJM – Transmission of 2019-nCoV Infection from an Asymptomatic Contact in Germany
• Lancet – Coronavirus
• Lancet – Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding
• Lancet – A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster
• Lancet – Nowcasting and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the 2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China: a modelling study
• Lancet – Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study
• Lancet – Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China
• EUROSURVEILLANCE – Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR
• EUROSURVEILLANCE – Inserm modelisation report on 2019-nCoV importation risk

2. Online tools

• Interactive map by John Hopkins
• ISARIC tools on 2019-nCoV
• NEXSTRAIN – Genomic epidemiology of novel coronavirus (nCoV)
• World Health Organization, Household transmission investigation protocol for 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, Version: 1.1, 25 January 2020. Download PDF
• GISAID Initiative – Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, for BetaCoV sequences

3. Useful links

• The French Ministry of Health
• Santé Publique France
• Inserm
• Institut Pasteur
• 2019-nCoV page on European centre for disease prevention and control (ECDC) website 
• ISARIC – International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium
• 2019n-CoV page on WHO website
• US CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• International Joint Statement on data sharing proposed by the Wellcome Trust
• WHO Guidance for managing ethical issues in infectious disease outbreaks
• Nuffield Council on Bioethic – Research in global health emergencies