UPDATE 3-China reports new virus cases, raising concern globally before key holiday

(Recasts throughout, updates with comments from expert on
effectiveness of border screenings, in paragraph 12-13)
By Se Young Lee and Hallie Gu
BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - China reported four more cases
of pneumonia believed to be caused by a new coronavirus strain,
causing rising concern globally that a disease health officials
do not yet fully understand could spread during a key holiday
period.
The new virus, which was discovered in the central Chinese
city of Wuhan, belongs in the same large family of coronaviruses
that includes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which
killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that
also started in China.
Though experts say the new virus does not appear to be as
lethal as SARS, there is little known about its origins and how
easily it can spread. Thailand and Japan have confirmed new
cases of the virus earlier this week, stoking worries globally
as many of the 1.4 billion Chinese people will travel abroad
during the Lunar New Year holidays that begin next
week.
Authorities around the world including in the United States,
Thailand and South Korea have stepped up monitoring of
travellers from Wuhan as part of their efforts to prevent the
disease from spreading.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that a
wider outbreak is possible, though it has advised against any
travel restrictions for China. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (WMHC) said on
Saturday the four new individuals diagnosed with the new virus
are in stable condition, adding it has confirmed 45 cases in the
city as of Thursday. A day earlier, the commission confirmed the
death of a second patient. Nearly 50 people are now known to have been infected
globally, but all of them either live in Wuhan or have travelled
to the city.
A report published by the London Imperial College's MRC
Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis said there are
likely "substantially more cases" of the new coronavirus than
currently announced by Wuhan authorities: its base scenario
estimate is that there would be 1,723 cases showing onset of
related symptoms by Jan. 12.
The WMHC referred Reuters queries about the report to the
National Health Commission (NHC) and the Hubei provincial
government, but the NHC and the Hubei government did not
immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Wuhan is
the capital of Hubei province.

SCREENING
U.S. authorities have said they would start screening at
three airports to detect travellers arriving via direct or
connecting flights from Wuhan who may have symptoms of the new
virus. In Asia, authorities in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and
Thailand have stepped up monitoring of passengers from Wuhan at
airports. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines say they have
strengthened screening at all points of entry in response to the
outbreak, as well.
But Alexandra Phelan, global health legal expert at
Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and
Security, said such screening may be insufficient in preventing
the virus from spreading as its symptoms, which include fever,
cough and difficulty in breathing, are "quite general".
"There are likely to be many individuals with matching
symptoms due to an illness that is not 2019-nCoV," Phelan said,
referring to the new virus.