Posts

CDC Confirms First Human-To-Human Transmission of Coronavirus in U.S.

/0 Comments/in , /by

U.S. health officials confirmed on Thursday the nation’s first person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus, which has already killed at least 171 people in China and infected more than 8,200 since emerging less than a month ago.

The new patient is the husband of the Chicago woman who brought the infection back from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, CDC and Illinois health officials said during a press briefing. Health officials said the man, in his 60s, has “some underlying medical conditions” but was in good condition. His wife was doing well but remained in isolation at a local hospital, they said. . .

“This is a very serious public health situation,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Moving forward, we can expect to see more cases, and more cases means more potential for person-to-person spread.”

The virus, which emerged Dec. 31, has already spread to more people than the 2003 SARS epidemic, which sickened roughly 8,100 people across the globe over nine months. The transmission makes the U.S. at least the fifth country where the infection is now spreading through human-to-human contact, including China. Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are at least nine cases of human-to-human transmission outside of China, as of Thursday. . .

U.S. officials are working to contain the outbreak from spreading in the country, including by increasing travel warnings and expanding screening at 20 U.S. airports. Trump administration officials have said they are constantly evaluating the situation and could take more drastic action if needed. (Read more from “Cdc Confirms First Human-To-Human Transmission of Coronavirus in U.S.” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Could a Vaccine Be on the Horizon to Combat Coronavirus?

/0 Comments/in , /by

China now has more cases of Wuhan coronavirus than it did of the SARS virus during the 2002-03 outbreak, according to the country’s own numbers, but a vaccine could be on the way soon.

According to the New York Post, China has reported 5,974 cases of the fast-spreading illness, which surpasses the 5,327 cases of SARS the country experienced over a decade ago. The Associated Press, however, notes that Wednesday’s death toll of 132 is well below the SARS outbreak’s Chinese death toll of 348.

But while it appears to be less deadly, CNN notes, the Wuhan virus is spreading much faster than SARS, taking less than two months to hit around 75 percent of the total number of worldwide infections of the 2002-03 outbreak, which took place over a period of nine months.

The news comes on the same day as a World Health Organization official described the rapid spread of the virus as a matter of “grave concern” at a news conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva.

“These developments in terms of the evolution of the outbreak and further development of transmission, these are of grave concern and has spurred countries into action,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program. “What we know at this stage, this is still obviously a very active outbreak and information is being updated and changing by the hour.”

(Read more from “Could a Vaccine Be on the Horizon to Combat Coronavirus?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

The U.S. Isn’t Taking Chances in Wuhan; Plane Carrying Passengers From Wuhan Stops in Anchorage

/0 Comments/in , /by

By USA Today. U.S. Consulate staffers and other Americans in Wuhan will be evacuated to California on Wednesday as the death toll rose to 106 from a new coronavirus racing through China.

In the U.S., Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday that the number of cases remained at five, with no deaths. Researchers are still trying to determine the incubation period of the virus and how easily it can be spread by infected people who are not yet experiencing symptoms, he said.

“This is a potentially very serious threat, but at this point Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Azar said. “This is a very fast-moving, constantly changing situation.”

Azar said U.S. health officials have repeatedly offered to send a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to China to help. He said talks with Chinese health officials had been positive and he was hopeful that an arrangement could be made. (Read more from “The U.S. Isn’t Taking Chances in Wuhan” HERE)

_________________________________________________

Americans Evacuate China Coronavirus Epicenter on Charter Plane

By The Washington Times. An airplane evacuating as many as 240 Americans from a Chinese city at the center of a virus outbreak departed Wednesday before dawn, and is en route to the U.S., a U.S. State Department official has told The Associated Press.

The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the latest coronavirus outbreak started, and other U.S. citizens. The plane will make a refueling stop in Alaska before flying on to Ontario, California, the U.S. Embassy in China has said. . .

During the refueling stop in Anchorage, the travelers will be re-screened for the virus. Hospitals have been notified and are prepared to treat or quarantine people who may be infected. (Read more from “Americans Evacuate China Coronavirus Epicenter on Charter Plane” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Coronavirus Simulation Indicates Disease May Kill 65 Million, Cause Hundreds of Billions of Losses

/6,371 Comments/in , , /by

By Market Watch. Scientist and scholar Eric Toner, quoted above in an excerpt from a Friday interview with the business-news channel CNBC, explained that China’s efforts to contain the current outbreak of a fast-moving upper-respiratory illness are “unlikely to be effective.” . . .

The number of infections of coronavirus, or CoV, has risen to about 2,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. On top of that, the official death toll has climbed to at least 56, including a doctor treating flu-stricken patients in Wuhan, from 40-plus as of Saturday. The Journal reported that the outbreak was overwhelming Wuhan-area resources and hospitals. . .

Toner, an M.D. and researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, took part in a simulation, undertaken in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that posited such a disease could kill 65 million people within 18 months under the right circumstances. . .

Toner said that his coronavirus simulation “was not [focused primarily on] the number of deaths; it was to point out that there could be societal and economic consequences from a severe pandemic, not just health consequences.” The simulation was also geared toward engendering international cooperation, making the case that governments and private companies alone can’t adequately respond to a pandemic. . .

However, the coronavirus was exacting a toll on the U.S. stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.58% on Friday lost 170 points, or 0.58%, closing just beneath 28,990 after having slipped as low as 28,843 in afternoon trading. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.90% fell 30 points, or 0.9%, to 3,295. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.93% declined by 87 points, or 0.93%, to finish the week at 9,315, after touching an intraday record high in early action. (Read more from “Coronavirus Simulation Indicates Disease May Kill 65 Million, Cause Hundreds of Billions of Losses” HERE)

___________________________________________________

China Coronavirus ‘Spreads Before Symptoms Show’

By BBC. A new coronavirus that has spread to more than 2,000 people is infectious in its incubation period – before symptoms show – making it harder to contain, Chinese officials say. . .

In humans, the incubation period – during which a person has the disease, but no symptoms yet – ranges from between one and 14 days, officials believe.

Without symptoms, a person may not know they have the infection, but still be able to spread it. . .

But stopping such “symptomless spreaders” will make the job of the Chinese authorities much harder.

There are still crucial questions – how infectious are people during the incubation period, and did any of the patients outside China spread the disease in those countries before becoming sick? (Read more from “China Coronavirus ‘Spreads Before Symptoms Show'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE