Public health extras: Americans support single payer, new coronavirus identified
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* Kim Krisberg

## Majority of Americans support national health plan

A recent national poll shows most Americans prefer universal health care.

In new numbers released in April, a *Washington Post*-Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 51 percent of Americans support a national health plan — or single-payer plan — in which all people get insurance from a single government plan. Forty-three percent opposed having a national health plan.

The poll also found majority support for the Affordable Care Act, with 53 percent of Americans supporting the health reform law, compared with 41 percent still opposed to the ACA.

For more information, visit [www.washingtonpost.com](http://www.washingtonpost.com).

## Coronavirus linked to bats found in China

A new coronavirus that recently killed thousands of piglets in China is linked to the same bat species that carries severe acute respiratory syndrome.

In a study published in April in *Nature*, researchers identified the new virus, named swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus, on four pig farms in China’s Guangdong Province. The virus began killing piglets in October 2016, ultimately killing nearly 25,000 piglets in China between 2016 and 2017. According to researchers, separating sick sows and piglets from the herd eventually helped stop the outbreak. The new virus does not appear to infect humans.

After identifying the virus in piglets, researchers determined that its genetic sequence was similar to another bat coronavirus discovered in 2007.

“The researchers say the finding is an important reminder that identifying new viruses in animals and quickly determining their potential to infect people is a key way to reduce global health threats,” according to a news release from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which supported the study.

To date, only two coronaviruses have caused outbreaks among people: SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome. From November 2002 to July 2003, more than 8,000 people were infected by SARS around the world — including eight cases in the U.S. — with about 800 deaths.

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun cutting back its epidemic prevention programs in more than three dozen countries, citing funding concerns.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association