With coronavirus now spreading through populations far from its origins in China, experts say it’s become a matter of when — not if — the outbreak becomes a pandemic.
That means it’s now time for us all to start preparing, according to University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay.
“We need to be aware that we are probably heading for that pandemic even if the World Health Organisation doesn’t want to call it that yet,” Professor Mackay says.
“It’s just a matter of time.”
Travel bans and quarantine measures have had success in some parts of the world, but the virus has now started killing people in parts of Iran, Italy and South Korea.
Its highly contagious nature is making it difficult to contain.
The World Health Organisation defines a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease”.
It declared a global health emergency last month, but says it’s still too early to declare the outbreak a pandemic.
WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the virus has pandemic potential but, right now, using the word “does not fit the facts but may certainly cause fear”.
But that’s likely to change if the number of cases keeps growing in Europe, the Middle East and east Asia.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, says even though the virus doesn’t appear to be spreading in Australia for now, “if there is a global pandemic, we will be prepared”.
