FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno County’s Department of Public Health is working with the California Department of Public Health and the CDC to learn more about the new coronavirus that is causing an outbreak of pneumonia illness in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Rais Vohra, MD, Interim Health Officer, Fresno County said that No cases have been identified in Fresno County or California as of January 23, 2020,
Health officials in the U.S. are watching the Coronavirus outbreak in China very closely, and continue to work with local healthcare providers as the situation evolves.
The outbreak began in early December 2019 and continues to expand in scope and magnitude. Since then, Chinese authorities preliminarily identified over 800 human infections, including 25 deaths, in an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, China. The youngest victim so far is a 36-year-old man in central China.
The Coronavirus has now spread to Europe, the BBC reporting Friday that two cases have been confirmed in France.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel precaution to China.
On Friday, it was reported that Minnesota has sent two suspected cases of Coronavirus to the CDC.
The CDC has confirmed a second case in Chicago. A Chicago woman returned Jan. 13 from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and began experiencing symptoms a few days after arriving home, said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. The 60-year-old woman called her doctor after symptoms arose and she was admitted to a hospital and placed in isolation, health officials said. Further testing confirmed the virus. Arwady said the woman is “clinically doing well and in stable condition.” She did not have extended contact with anyone outside of her home, attend a large public gathering or use public transportation, Arwady said.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing respiratory illness in people and others that circulate mostly among animals, including camels, cats and bats.
Common symptoms in an infected person include a fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
“Since there are many coronaviruses and they are routinely found in those with the common cold, it is not unusual to detect one or several strains during routine testing. However, these strains are not the same as the novel 2019-nCoV strain, which can only be detected by the CDC laboratory at this time,” says Dr. Vohra, Fresno County Interim Health Officer.
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