Sars-like virus death reported in UK

The British health authorities announced here Tuesday that a patient infected with a new respiratory illness similar to the deadly Sars virus and was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, has died in the UK. The patient, who was already undergoing treatment for a “long-term complex unrelated health condition” before contracting the new virus, passed away last Sunday morning in the hospital’s critical care unit, the University Hospitals Birmingham said. The person who died was immunocompromised and is believed to have contracted the coronavirus from a relative who was being treated for the condition in a Manchester hospital in northern England, the hospital sources added. Health officials in the UK believe they have the strongest evidence yet that a new respiratory illness similar to the deadly Sars virus can spread from person to person. It is noted that cases of the infection may come from contact with animals. However, if the virus can spread between people it poses a much more serious threat.