Health Highlights: Jan. 13, 2020

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

China Reports First Death in Coronavirus Outbreak

The first death in an outbreak of a new type of coronavirus was announced Saturday by officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

As of Friday, there were 41 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, and seven people were in critical condition, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, the Associated Press reported.

The patient, who died on Thursday, was a 61-year-old man who’d been hospitalized with shortness of breath and severe pneumonia. He also had abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease, and he regularly visited a food market on Wuhan’s outskirts linked to the majority of cases, health officials said.

There are a wide range of coronaviruses. Some cause the common cold, while others can cause more severe illnesses, the AP reported.

There have been reports of possible cases of the same illness in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. All have involved people who had recently traveled to Wuhan, city officials said.

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