The risk of coronavirus infection remains low in Europe, despite the number of cases continuing to climb outside the Chinese mainland, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
"The infection for the EU, EEA and the UK is low," said Josep Jansa, Principal Expert in Emergency Preparedness and Response at the ECDC. "And the probability of transmission in the EU is considered very low, even less than low."
There have been 45 confirmed cases in the euro area and all of them can be easily traced back to Wuhan, the epicenter of this deadly outbreak. At a virus seminar in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday, the ECDC said Europe remains in the containment phase.
If the number of cases were to dramatically increase, the ECDC said it will shift into the mitigation phase, where it would support hospitals and primary healthcare systems.
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus which causes COVID-19. (AP Photo)
The ECDC said Europe is well prepared and there is no lack of testing capacity.
"The laboratory survey conducted in Europe in mid-February showed that all over Europe, we could test over 8 thousand samples per week and that was still not counting those countries which are still scaling up," said Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
The ECDC does not implement health measures, but rather conducts risk assessments and gives recommendations based on scientific evidence. It's ultimately up to the European Commission and member states whether to implement those recommendations.
Dr. Ammon said the institution is monitoring new information which is coming out so it can update its risk assessment if needed. For example, a small percentage of COVID-19 patients have presented with gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea and stomach aches, which could mean the virus is spreading in multiple ways.
"It is a possibility. We don't know yet how much this really plays a role in the transmission," said Dr. Ammon. "During SARS, it was a big event where it was the fecal transmission, actually the aerosolization of the feces in a sewage system in a house, so the potential is there but we don't know how big it is."
While there still remains no confirmed treatment for COVID-19, there are trials underway to try and find the best treatment. China is already conducting antiviral clinical trials.
Dr. Ammon said a consortium which can organize clinical trials in Europe is being set up, but at this stage, there are not enough cases of COVID-19 to conduct a trial.