Can you spread the Wuhan virus before symptoms start?

Editor's note

The Wuhan coronavirus has infected more than 4,500 people, mostly in China, and claimed more than 100 lives. While health authorities say it’s unlikely to spread very widely in Australia, it has people worried.

This concern reached new heights on Sunday when Chinese officials said the virus could spread before symptoms emerged.

As Raina MacIntyre explains, there’s no scientific data to support that claim. But a study of an infected family suggests it is possible for children and young people to be infectious without ever showing symptoms.

Fron Jackson-Webb

Deputy Editor/Senior Health + Medicine Editor

Top stories

Health authorities estimate each infectious person could pass the virus onto two others. Jerome Favre/AAP

How contagious is the Wuhan coronavirus and can you spread it before symptoms start?

C Raina MacIntyre, UNSW

There's no evidence you can spread the Wuhan coronavirus before showing symptoms, but one study suggests it's possible for children and young people to be infectious without ever having symptoms.

The Wuhan Jinyintan hospital is bearing the brunt. Based on what we know so far, the economic impact will be limited. STR/EPA

What we know suggests the economic impact of Wuhan coronavirus will be limited

Mark Humphery-Jenner, UNSW

The 1918 Spanish Flu, the 1957-1958 Asian Flu and the 2001-2002 SARS pandemic give us a frame of reference.

Like the other Democratic candidates for president, Elizabeth Warren has spent months canvassing Iowa to meet voters while spending little time in other states. CJ Gunther/EPA

The US presidential primaries are arcane, complex and unrepresentative. So why do Americans still vote this way?

David Smith, University of Sydney

Americans didn't always have primaries and caucuses to choose presidential candidates. The system was meant to be more democratic, but it places too much attention on largely white, small states.

Netflix’s new show fails to critically explore the alternative therapies it promotes. Adam Rose/Netflix

Marketing, not medicine: Gwyneth Paltrow’s The Goop Lab whitewashes traditional health therapies for profit

Nadia Zainuddin, University of Wollongong

Alternative therapies have a lot to offer consumers. The Goop Lab only serves to set back the wellness cause.

Politics + Society
Scott Morrison’s ‘resilience’ speech overshadowed as McKenzie crisis deepens Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Morrison's hope for clear air for his messages is being stymied by the crisis around deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie, as more damaging information emerges against her in the sports rorts affair.

Education
Not all Australian parents can access quality childcare and preschool – they can’t just ‘shop around’ Kate Noble, Victoria University; Peter Hurley, Victoria University Many families already shop around for childcare and still face major barriers such as availability. And shopping around is not a realistic option for many living in disadvantaged areas.

Cities

How to cope with extreme heat days without racking up the aircon bills

Emma Power, Western Sydney University; Abby Mellick Lopes, Western Sydney University; Louise Crabtree, Western Sydney University

Air conditioning isn't the answer for everyone, especially for residents of the less affluent – and often hotter – suburbs of our big cities. But there are other ways to make hot days more bearable.

Science + Technology

Seniors struggle with technology, and often their kids won’t help

Bernardo Figueiredo, RMIT University; Torgeir Aleti (né Watne), RMIT University

As technology moves faster and our population gets older, here are some things we can all do to help seniors keep up.
Stone tools reveal epic trek of nomadic Neanderthals

Kseniya Kolobova, Russian Academy of Sciences; Maciej T. Krajcarz, Polish Academy of Sciences; Richard 'Bert' Roberts, University of Wollongong

Neanderthals living in a cave in southern Siberia made distinctive stone tools that can be traced to their ancestral homeland in eastern Europe — an intercontinental journey of more than 3,000 km.

Health + Medicine
Pingers, pingas, pingaz: how drug slang affects the way we use and understand drugs Julaine Allan, Charles Sturt University Drug slang can help researchers understand drug trends. But if you're taking a drug called by a street name, make sure you know what it is.

Environment + Energy
Fire almost wiped out rare species in the Australian Alps. Feral horses are finishing the job Jamie Pittock, Australian National University Without an emergency cull of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park, the land cannot recover from the bushfires – and threatened species are at grave risk of being annihilated.