CDC Calls CoV “Serious Emerging Public Health Threat”, Confirms 5th US Case
Summary:
- 5th US Coronavirus infection confirmed by CDC in 4 states (AZ, CA, IL, WA)
- CDC calls the virus an “emerging public health threat,” adding that the threat is “serious.”
- 2082 cases, 56 Official deaths
- Incubation is asymptomatic, contagious, and can be as long as 14 days
- 5M may have left Wuhan for Lunar New Year
- 1st case was Dec 1 NOT Dec 31 so infect pop may be much bigger
- US, Russia, Thailand begin plans for evacuation
- Premier Li Keqiang charged with leading government’s task force
- 3 Beijing hospitals using AIDS drugs to treat virus
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Update (1510ET): CDC reports that a fifth infection has been confirmed in the US (in Arizona), calling the coronavirus an “emerging public health threat,” says threat is “serious.”
Situation Summary
CDC is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (termed “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and which continues to expand. Chinese health officials have reported more than a thousand infections with 2019-nCoV in China, including outside of Hubei Province. Infections with 2019-nCoV also are being reported in a growing number of international locations, including the United States, where 5 cases in travelers from Wuhan have been confirmed in four states (AZ, CA, IL, WA) as of January 26, 2020.
Source and Spread of the Virus
Chinese health authorities were the first to post the full genome of the 2019-nCoV in GenBank El , the NIH genetic sequence database, and in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID Z ) portal, an action which has facilitated detection of this virus. On January 24, 2020, CDC posted in GenBank the full genome of the 2019-nCoV virus detected in the first U.S. patient from Washington state.
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