Health

Wuhan's public health authorities say they are in a "state of war" as they quarantine the Chinese city in an attempt to halt the spread of a never-before-seen strain of the coronavirus.

"Strictly implement emergency response requirements, enter into a state of war and implement wartime measures to resolutely curb the spread of this epidemic," urged a committee of Wuhan's top officials. "Homes must be segregated, neighbors must be watched."

A new strain of coronavirus — named 2019-nCoV — has been discovered in China. Viruses in the coronavirus category can cause fever, breathing difficulties, pneumonia and diarrhea. Some are potentially fatal. Others can cause the relatively mild common cold.

Here is a look at the most well-known coronaviruses: what they have in common and how they differ.

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Chinese state media are reporting that authorities in the city of Wuhan are planning to suspend bus, subway, ferry and long-distance passenger transport. They also say that all flights and trains departing from Wuhan will be temporarily canceled in a bid to reduce spread of the new virus.

The announcement from Wuhan authorities read in part: "Residents should not leave the city, unless under special circumstances. Outbound planes and trains will be halted temporarily until further notice. We appreciate your understanding and support."

Updated at 5:35 p.m. ET

A newly identified strain of coronavirus has killed at least 17 people in China and caused hundreds of confirmed infections, the Hubei provincial government said Wednesday, citing the latest figures from hard-hit Wuhan and other cities.

U.S. officials are weighing the benefits and risks of proposed experiments that might make a dangerous pathogen even worse — but the details of that review, and the exact nature of the experiments, aren't being released to the public.

Later this week, officials are to hold a meeting in Bethesda, Md., to debate how much information to openly share about this kind of controversial work and how much to reveal about the reasoning behind decisions to pursue or forgo it.

New information is being reported about the new coronavirus that emerged in China in December and causes respiratory symptoms such as pneumonia — heightening concerns about its potential threat to humans.

On Monday, Chinese authorities reported that the total caseload has risen to over 200, roughly tripling the previous number. In addition, authorities in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported, confirmed a third death but did not release details except to say that the three victims, all men, had prior illnesses.

Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions of conditions in a hospital morgue.

In the bowels of a Venezuelan hospital, I took my toughest walk ever.

It was just after dawn on Oct. 17. The corpse of my 81-year-old father lay on a gurney, covered in thick orange sheets. He had just died of a heart attack in his hospital room, on the fifth floor. He was lying in bed next to my stepmother, his companion for the last 20 years. It was four days after doctors had performed a major emergency surgery to repair his large intestine.

There's a growing global campaign which may seem harsh and heartless. The message: Don't visit orphanages.

Last year, the British government updated its travel advice to discourage tourists from visiting or volunteering in orphanages, saying it could have "serious unintended consequences." In April, the Dutch parliament held a debate on the practice and its connection to human trafficking.

Updated on Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.

Three U.S. airports will begin screening passengers from Wuhan, China, for symptoms of the new strain of coronavirus — named 2019-nCoV — that has been discovered in China.

Last fall, Félix Tshisekedi, the president of Democratic Republic of Congo, made a triumphant prediction: Before 2019 was over, the Ebola outbreak that had ravaged his country for more than a year would finally be brought to a close. Already, health workers had managed to quash the Ebola virus in all but a small set of remaining hot zones. New infections had slowed to a trickle.

In December 2019 and in the first week of January, 104 infants died in a government-run hospital in Kota, a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.

And in one 48-hour period in mid-December at the J.K. Lon Maternal and Child Hospital, there were ten deaths: five newborns and five children under 2 years of age.

The deaths made nationwide headlines, but despite the media coverage — and the ensuing political infighting over the cause of the deaths — this is not a new turn of events. Over the course of 2019, the hospital recorded 940 infant deaths.

On a December day in Lahore, Pakistan's second-biggest city, the smog concealed tall buildings. Men on motorbikes seemed to push through it as they rode. It reeked of diesel and charcoal, compelling the Nadim family to go to the hospital.

"I can't breathe," said Mohammad Nadim, 34. He gestured to his wife, Sonia. "My wife can't breathe." She held their 3-month-old daughter Aisha, who pushed out wet, heavy coughs. "But we are here for our children."

Genaro Moreno Bonilla has been fishing off the coast of Coqui, Colombia, for 53 years.

"I remember that I would paddle out in my canoe and propose to myself to catch 50 or 100 fish that day, and it happened," he says. Life was good. Colombia had a reputation for having one of the greatest variety of fish on the planet.

But things have changed. The plentiful supply of fish Bonilla depended on has dwindled dramatically in a changing world. And efforts to make his life better in the long run are actually exacerbating the problems he faces today.

We don't have a crystal ball, but as journalists covering global health and development, we have a pretty good nose for emerging trends (with some help from our favorite expert sources).

Some likely trends give cause for optimism — signs of progress in solving the world's problems. Other trends are pessimistic — threats and challenges that are expected to worsen in the year ahead.

Here are 11 trend lines we'll be watching in 2020. First we'll give you the bad news — then the hopeful predictions.

The baby girl cooing in a hospital in the Pakistani capital was long awaited. Her mother, Ambreen Saddam, 28, had been trying to conceive for four years. She gave birth at 9 a.m., Islamabad time, Jan. 1, 2020. That date made the birth even sweeter, says Saddam.

"It's a very happy time for us," she says, lying beside her tiny, five-pound baby, who was wrapped in a bright pink blanket in a crammed maternity ward at a sprawling health compound in the city.

In some ways, the world is also celebrating with her.

It was quite a decade.

Ebola swept through Africa as never before – and has returned again just this past year.

Polio was almost wiped out – but not quite.

The issue of menstruation became a headline topic.

And a selfie debate began --- what are the ethics of posing for pictures in developing countries.