Wrong information about Wuhan virus spreads on the internet: 2019-nCoV equal to SARI, diluted saltwater can eliminate virus

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/27
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the epidemic of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reaches a peak, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns in a press release on Jan. 25 that the spread of misleading information on social media is becoming an obstacle to public health.

The main inaccurate information is a rumor that the Wuhan pneumonia has now been officially classified as SARI, and that SARI is a superior version of SARS. According to this gossip, no effective drugs exist to cure the infection, though steroids can be used to prolong the lives of patients.

Other falsehoods in circulation include the advice that rinsing the pharynx with diluted salt water and maintaining home temperatures above 20 C will help to kill coronaviruses.

To clarify, the CDC pointed out that SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) is in fact a common term used to refer to severe pneumonia brought on by various coronaviruses but that it is not specific to the pneumonia originating from Wuhan. The provisional name given by the WHO for the current novel coronavirus is 2019-nCoV.    [FULL  STORY]