The new virus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, has already spread to other Asian countries such as Taiwan and Japan. So far it has claimed six patients in China and seems to be dispersing to other parts of the world. Just a few weeks after its emergence in the Asian continent, the first case of the coronavirus in the United States has now been reported.
It was unknown as to whether or not the mysterious virus known as 2019-nCoV could be transmitted from person to person, and that it had the ability to spread faster than expected. Presently, the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in the city of Seattle.
The disease has spread to major cities in China as well as to neighboring Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea—in just three weeks. And the first reported case in the U.S. was announced yesterday. https://t.co/HQBxOvXMtT
According to The Washington Post, the approximately thirty-year-old man would have had to have traveled near the region of Wuhan, China, and returned to the United States before authorities began monitoring visitors for possible contagion. The man arrived in the city of Seattle on Wednesday of last week, and began to feel bad a short time later. However he waited until Sunday to see the doctor. State and federal authorities quickly took samples of his case to send to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an instance that confirmed Monday that the man was infected with the coronavirus.
The SARS-like #coronavirus is creating real life scenes like this. Stay safe out there my friends. 🙏😷 pic.twitter.com/uycbbsqget
— Jack Phan (@JackPhan) January 22, 2020
The state of Washington announced that doctors, health workers and some patients may have been exposed to the virus, and recommended that they be conscious of any indications. In addition, the authorities are tracking people who may have been infected by the man in both China and the United States.
It is believed that the virus may have emerged in some Wuhan market where animals are traded. And due to its rapid expansion, Chinese health authorities believe that people and animals can transmit the disease. The main symptoms of coronavirus include respiratory problems, shortness of breath, fever, and cough, and could result in severe cases of pneumonia and even kidney failure.
