The coronavirus is still spreading in China, and the doctor who warned Chinese officials early on about a possible outbreak is now dead. But in the US, some think the outbreak is exaggerated. Is it?
A large portrait of Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Gate adjacent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Jan. 27, 2020.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
New Zealand has become more economically dependent on China than many nations in the past generation, with a 12-fold jump in trade in commercial services.
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS SINGAPORE / HANDOUT/AAP
Universities have put in place many measures to help international students. But online classes are not a simple solution, and the government could help with the extra money students have to spend.
Jack Ma speaks at a meeting of the World Economic Forum Foundation in 2015.
Jolanda Flubacher/World Economic Forum
From helping fight coronavirus to supporting education and biodiversity projects, China’s tech billionaires have moved boldly into philanthropy, continuing what is an ancient tradition.
Decontee Sawyer, wife of Liberian government official Patrick Sawyer, a naturalized American who died from Ebola after traveling from Liberia to Nigeria, on July 29, 2014.
AP Photo/Craig Lassig
Immigrants experienced stigma and blame during the Ebola crisis when in fact many were instrumental in stopping the spread of the disease. A scholar who studied that response offers insights.
Places where lots of animals come into contact can help pathogens move from species to species.
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In the real world, new diseases emerge from complex environments. To learn more about how, scientists set up whole artificial ecosystems in the lab, instead of focusing on just one factor at a time.
Shanghai airport empty after scores of cancelled flights.
EPA
Australia has never had such a drop in student numbers. Even during the SARS outbreak Australia didn’t implement bans on those travelling from affected countries.
Flight attendants check temperatures of passengers aboard an Air China flight from Melbourne to Beijing on Feb. 4, 2020.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
The World Health Organization has said the coronavirus is not yet a pandemic. That raises a question: just what is a pandemic? An expert explains.
Researchers Tian Xia and Zijie Lin test a plasma prototype for preventing airborne transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus at a Michigan pig farm.
Robert Coelius/Michigan Engineering, Communications & Marketing
Viruses are small enough to pass through filters, including face masks. Disabling viruses with electrically charged gases could be a better way to curb airborne transmission.
To how many others will one infected person spread the infection?
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Epidemiologists want to quickly identify any emerging disease’s potential to spread far and wide. Dependent on a number of factors, this R0 number helps them figure that out and plan accordingly.
Yun Jiang, Australian National University e Adam Ni, Macquarie University
The Chinese government is accused of reacting too slowly to the health crisis and silencing its critics. Now, the public is angry and wants party leaders to be held accountable.
Pedestrians wear protective masks as they walk in Toronto in late January 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The Chinese Communist Party has long used healthcare as part of its propaganda operation.
A horseshoe bat chasing a moth. Horseshoe bats were the source of SARS. Scientists consider bats to be a possible source of coronavirus.
DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY / Contributor
Some of the world’s worst diseases have come from animals. Bats, cows, camels and horses have all contributed. Now, scientists are working to know which animal introduced the new coronavirus.
Coronavirus can cause lung damage, pneumonia and multi-organ failure, or sepsis, among other things.
Camp beds set up for travelers returning to Germany from China, who will be isolated for two weeks to make sure they don’t have coronavirus.
YANN SCHREIBER/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration has cut funding for infectious disease research and reduced high-level staffing for global health security, leaving the nation less prepared for major outbreaks.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne