Wall Street Journal:
Yes, thank you very much from the Wall Street Journal. First, a question for Mr. Cao Bin. You co-wrote a study that was published in The Lancet medical journal, which gave December 1 as the date for the symptoms’ onset in the earliest recorded case. I'm sure that you know that the Wuhan government has said that December 8 was the date for the symptoms’ onset in the first confirmed case, and a few other studies have also cited December 8. I was wondering if you could just clarify the difference between those dates. Is it that the December 1 case was just clinically diagnosed and not confirmed? And the second question for all of you is: What have you had been able to learn from the samples that were taken from the Huanan Market early on? And is it correct that some of that evidence was lost when the wild animals and the meat from them were destroyed at the time when the market was closed? Thank you.
Cao Bin:
Thank you for your questions. I appreciate your interest in our paper published in The Lancet. The paper was published on January 24, on the day of the Spring Festival. Yes, many foreign doctors have told me that they got to know the disease through our publication in The Lancet. In this paper, we introduced the clinical features of the first 41 cases hospitalized during December and early January.
As a pulmonary physician, my job is to collect clinical data. Why did we collect these clinical data? The aim of our job is to prepare the first version of the treatment guideline for this new disease. When we wrote the first version of the guidelines, we used the name “viral pneumonia with unknown etiology.”
But since then, as you may already know, China has published seven versions of the guidelines. All the serial guidelines were based on our first-line observations, collection of clinical data, laboratory findings, chest x-rays, and CT scans. When we collected clinical data of the onset of symptoms, it was self-reported by the patient. From our cohort, I have double-checked my database with the patient’s record, which noted that he felt ill on December 1.
I'm not sure if we are talking about the same case. But for a new disease, as I have mentioned, it will take many days to get to know the illness, including its incubation, severity, and optimal treatment choice. There are many angles to answer a scientific question.
I'm a clinician and pulmonary physician. This is what I can tell you now, but I would like to introduce more of our research in the future. Thank you.
Xi Yanchun:
Okay. For the second question, Professor Du would like to give an answer.
Du Bin:
Sure. Thank you for your second question concerning the closing of the Huanan Seafood Market. As far as I know, the decision to close the Huanan Seafood Market is based on clinical information, such as that provided by Professor Cao just now.
In the initial cohorts of patients, at least 60% of them had a history of contact, or visited the seafood market. And as far as I understand, the decision to close the seafood market goes along with the evidence. Although, subsequently, I think the CDC staff found that the animals, the wildlife in the seafood market, were tested positive for the RNA of the novel coronavirus. I'm not aware of any evidence to show if they kept all the meat or animals within the market, or if some of them have been destroyed or not. I think if you have the chance, you'd better go to the government to get more detailed information. Thank you.
Xi Yanchun:
Okay, because time is limited, let's give the very two last chances to raise questions: one to a foreign journalist, another to a Chinese journalist. The lady standing up, you have the chance.
