An infection by a coronavirus belonging to the same family of that responsible for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has been reported in the United Kingdom. A 49 years old man from Qatari with a travel history to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been admitted to an intensive care unit in Doha, Qatar, on 7 September, with symptoms of acute respiratory syndrome with renal failure. He has been transferred to the UK on 11 September, where the Health Protection Agency confirmed the presence of a novel coronavirus, whose sequence was 99.5% similar to that responsible of a previous fatal case reported earlier this year in a 60 year-old Saudi national.
Given that coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause different kinds of diseases, from the common cold to the SARS, WHO is currently trying to gather further information about these two cases and did not recommended any travel restrictions.
A new coronavirus found in UK
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Europe votes on the new air quality directive
The European Parliament's vote (and subsequently the Council of Europe's) on the new European Directive on air quality is expected for September 13. This directive updates the allowed atmospheric pollutant limits, bringing them closer to those established by the WHO in 2021. Resistance to the new objectives, mainly coming from the industrial world and established economic interests in certain regions, makes the outcome of the vote uncertain. However, there are no serious scientific or political reasons to oppose or attempt to dilute the more ambitious limits proposed by the new directive.
Image credits: JC Gellidon/Unsplash
The new European Directive on air quality, currently under discussion in the European Parliament, updates the concentration limits of major air pollutants, bringing them closer to those set by the new guidelines of the World Health Organization (2021). The outcome of the vote, scheduled for September 13, is uncertain.