Wuhan Shrimp Vendor Is Reportedly Coronavirus “Patient Zero”

Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team drive their vehicle as they leave the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei, Province on January 11, 2020, where the Wuhan health commission said that the man who died from a respiratory illness had purchased goods. - China said on January 11, 2020 that a 61-year-old man had become the first person to die from a respiratory illness believed to be caused by a new virus from the same family as SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago. Forty-one people with pneumonia-like symptoms have so far been diagnosed with the new virus in Wuhan, with one of the victims dying on January 8, 2020, the central Chinese city's health commission said on its website. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Wuhan Shrimp Vendor Is Reportedly Coronavirus “Patient Zero”

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A shrimp vendor at the Wuhan market where the coronavirus pandemic reportedly started is believed to have been “patient zero,” which refers to the first patient who was infected.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the woman is 57-years-old and identified as Wei Guixian. She reportedly developed symptoms around Dec. 10. She sought out treatment at a local clinic and returned to work after, which may have caused the spread of the disease.

“I felt a bit tired, but not as tired as previous years,” she said, per news.com.au. “Every winter, I always suffer from the flu. So I thought it was the flu.”

After feeling significantly worse, she visited the Eleventh Hospital in Wuhan.

“The doctor at the Eleventh Hospital could not figure out what was wrong with me and gave me pills,” Wei added. “By then I felt a lot worse and very uncomfortable. I did not have the strength or energy.”

A Dec. 31 statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said that Wei was one of the first 27 patients to test positive for COVID-19, and one of 24 individuals with direct contact with the infected seafood market.

Wei believes she may have contracted it from a market toilet that she hsared sith toher meat sellers.

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