New York (AFP)

The mysterious pneumonia that appeared in China is causing growing concern: a second person has died, dozens of patients remain infected and the United States has implemented screening at several of their airports.

A 69-year-old Chinese man died on Wednesday in Wuhan (center), a city of 11 million inhabitants where all Chinese cases have been identified since last month, said the Municipal Hygiene and Health Commission late Thursday. .

The local health authorities wanted to be reassuring this week: according to them, the risk of transmission of the virus between humans, if it is "not excluded", is considered "low".

The epidemic is fueling fears of a re-emergence of a highly contagious SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus, which killed some 650 people in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

A 61-year-old Chinese man had already died last week.

According to the latest assessment, at least 41 patients in total have been identified in Wuhan. Among them, 12 were released from the hospital and five are still in serious condition.

The Chinese authorities' investigation found that several patients worked in a city market specializing in the wholesale of seafood and fish.

- "Don't panic" -

The municipality took several measures, ordering in particular the closure of the market concerned, where disinfection operations and analyzes were carried out.

The offending strain is a new type of coronavirus, a family with a large number of viruses. They can cause mild illnesses in humans (like a cold) but also other more serious ones like Sras.

The Chinese authorities have however ruled out a resurgence of the latter virus.

According to the Wuhan Health Commission, the majority of patients are men, most of them a certain age.

The second deceased person fell ill on December 31. She saw her health worsen five days later.

The concern spread to the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the immediate implementation of screening at three major airports in the country.

All passengers arriving from Wuhan, in direct flight or after one or two stopovers, will be subject to an examination upon arrival at John F. Kennedy, in New York, LAX in Los Angeles and at San Francisco International Airport.

Passengers will be screened by medical teams but not routinely subjected to a test to determine with certainty whether the subject is carrying the virus, said Martin Cetron, director of immigration and quarantines for the CDC, during a conference call .

"Based on the information currently available, the risk (posed by the virus) for Americans is considered to be low," said the CDC, which nevertheless wants to "take precautions".

With the SARS and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) episodes in 2015, "We know it is crucial to be proactive and prepared," said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases , during a conference call.

The CDC dispatched approximately 100 people to the three airports concerned to help on-site personnel carry out this screening.

Other cases of this mysterious pneumonia have been detected abroad: two in Thailand and one in Japan. The authorities of these two countries claim that the patients had gone to Wuhan before their hospitalization.

The Thai Ministry of Health reported the second case on Friday. She is a 74-year-old Chinese traveler hospitalized after arriving on January 13 at Bangkok Airport.

"People should not panic as there is no spread of the disease in Thailand," said the country's health authorities.

- Lunar New Year -

Thailand has tightened controls at its airports as the Lunar New Year (January 25) festivities approach, a sensitive period that raises concerns about the possible spread of the virus.

On this occasion, hundreds of millions of Chinese take buses, trains and planes to spend the holidays with family. Many also go on vacation to Southeast Asia.

China has not announced travel restrictions in the country. However, the authorities in Hong Kong (south) have strengthened their detection measures at the borders of the autonomous territory, in particular with body temperature detectors.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that "there is still a lot to discover about the new coronavirus".

"We do not know enough to draw definitive conclusions about its mode of transmission," she said.

Ith-sbr-ehl you / AB

© 2020 AFP