As state keeps eye on new virus, official assures there’s no cause for fear

Arkansas health officials are monitoring the spread of the new coronavirus traced to Wuhan, China, but no cases have been identified in the state, the Department of

Health’s director for immunizations and outbreak response said Monday.

Right now there is little risk to Arkansans who haven’t recently traveled abroad, but reports of the coronavirus from around the world have put officials on alert, Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said.

“We’re seeing it gradually spread across the globe,” she said. “It shows that these kinds of viruses won’t stay in any particular locality. … For that reason, we in the Health

Department are being cautious about this virus.”

Health Department officials are tracking updates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dillaha said, and offering guidance for clinicians about patients who have recently been to China.

While some doctors have reached out to Arkansas regulators to discuss patients, none so far has met the criteria to be evaluated as a possible case of the virus.

More than 2,700 people in China have been sickened by the new (or novel) coronavirus, and 81 have died so far, The Associated Press reported Monday.

By comparison, the CDC

estimated last week that 8,200 people had died of the flu and at least 15 million had been sickened so far this season. In Arkansas, 27 people had died as of last week.

The new virus is part of a family of pathogens that causes disease in both people and animals.

First identified in Wuhan — a city of 11 million people, larger than New York City — the outbreak has led to large-scale quarantines in China and triggered health screenings at international airports.

As of Monday afternoon, five U.S. cases among recent travelers had been identified, and 73 people who’d been flagged had tests pending, according to CDC maps. The confirmed cases were in California, Arizona, Washington and Illinois.

People who have recently been to China and develop symptoms similar to other respiratory illnesses, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, should call their doctor, a CDC fact sheet about the outbreak says.

Although Arkansas’ lack of an international airport is a plus in situations such as this, Dillaha points out that Northwest and Central Arkansas still get their share of visitors, meaning “we have to be mindful.”

“Our main concern is travelers who are returning to the U.S.,” she said — doubly true because the virus may have a long incubation period, in which infected people don’t feel sick.

The new coronavirus has been linked to severe complications such as pneumonia.

Similar viruses spread through respiratory droplets, such as when a person sneezes or coughs, and public health officials are investigating to see if this virus is shared the same way.

Dillaha said it’s never a bad idea to take typical precautions, such as frequently washing your hands and disinfecting surfaces to help ward off contagious illness.

“Those kinds of precautions are going to be helpful to anyone wishing to avoid a cold, or the flu, or this virus, if it reaches Arkansas,” she said.

People with plans to go on international trips should also consult travel advisories from federal agencies. As of Monday, the U.S. State Department said people should “reconsider” travel to China because of the outbreak.

The CDC is optimizing its test for the coronavirus, which should be available to states within a relatively short time, Dillaha says. A vaccine could also be developed, but it wouldn’t be commercially available right away.

She added that one encouraging sign has been the speed at which researchers have been able to genetically sequence the virus and share that data internationally, including sequencing from the first U.S. cases.

“We just want people to be cautious, but not afraid,” she said.