First case of new virus ID’d in U.S.
Washington man recently returned from trip to China
A U.S. citizen who recently returned from a trip to central China has been diagnosed with a new virus that has sparked an outbreak infecting nearly 300 people in five countries and causing at least six deaths.
“We have now confirmed the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The man returned to the Seattle area in the middle of last week after traveling to the Wuhan area, where the outbreak began. The man is in his 30s and is in good condition at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, outside Seattle.
The U.S. is the fifth country to report seeing the illness, following China, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
The CDC reports it expects to see more cases in the coming days, including in more countries outside China.
At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China.
In a Tuesday telebriefing with reporters, Messonnier said Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be added to the list of screening locations.
The CDC has screened more than 1,200 travelers so far and none have been referred to a hospital yet, according to Messonnier.
The Washington patient, a United States resident, entered the U.S. on an indirect flight from Wuhan on Jan. 15, before the screenings began, and started to feel symptoms on Jan. 19 when he reached out to his health care provider, according to Washington health officials.
John Wiesman, secretary of health for Washington state said the risk to the public is low due to the quick actions of the patient in receiving medical attention.
Last month, doctors began seeing the new type of viral pneumonia — fever, cough, difficulty breathing — in people who spent time at a food market in Wuhan. More than 275 cases of the newly identified coronavirus have been confirmed in China, most of them in Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization.
The count includes six deaths — all in China, most of them age 60 or older, including at least some who had a previous medical condition.
Officials have said it probably spread from animals to people, but this week Chinese officials said they’ve concluded it also can spread from person to person.