Coronavirus Death Toll Rises in China as U.S. Reports Second Case
New U.S. case involves a Chicago woman who traveled to China last month and returned to the U.S. on Jan. 13
Health authorities said Friday a second person in the U.S. has been infected by the respiratory virus that emerged in central China last month and has been spreading since to other countries.
The case involves a woman in her 60s from Chicago who had traveled to Wuhan in late December and returned to the U.S. on Jan. 13, said Allison Arwady, Chicago’s health commissioner. The woman has been isolated in a hospital, and is doing well, Dr. Arwady said.
Hers is the second case to be confirmed in the U.S., after health authorities reported the hospitalization of a Washington State man in his 30s who had traveled to the central Chinese city where the outbreak started.
Officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they expected the virus, which emerged last month in a meat and seafood market in the Chinese city Wuhan, would spread to more people in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world.
The CDC said it has been investigating whether 63 patients from 22 states have been infected with the China virus. Only the two have tested positive for the virus so far, while eleven were negative.
The Wuhan virus belongs to a family of respiratory viruses that can be spread by coughing, kissing or making contact with saliva. Often, these coronaviruses simply cause common colds. But others have been more serious, even deadly.
In the U.S., authorities have been screening international travelers arriving at five major airports for fevers and other symptoms of an infection, while alerting hospitals to take measures to screen people who have traveled to Wuhan and control infections.
The Chicago woman who was infected didn’t show symptoms until a few days after returning to the U.S. from China, Dr. Arwady said. After learning about the woman’s trip, her doctor took steps to prevent further spread, including sending the woman to a hospital with infection control.
Health authorities are monitoring the woman’s close contacts, who haven’t shown any signs of infections, Dr. Arwady said.
Dr. Arwady expressed doubt the woman transmitted the virus since she didn’t have symptoms while flying—and after returning to the U.S., didn’t take public transportation or attend any large gatherings, In addition, she did not have long, close contact with anyone outside her home, Dr. Arwady added.