The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health are closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illnesses caused by a novel (new) coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, in Wuhan City, China which has resulted in more than 400 infections and several deaths.
While the initial outbreak was linked to a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan City, evidence of broader person to person transmission is emerging. Cases are now being reported from other parts of China and other countries, including the U.S. Transmission to healthcare workers is also possible.
The first case in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020.
There is an ongoing investigation to determine more about this rapidly evolving outbreak.
According to the CDC, patients with confirmed 2019-nCoV infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:
- fever
- cough
- shortness of breath
The CDC believes, at this time, that symptoms of 2019-nCoV may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 after exposure. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of MERS viruses.
The latest situation summary updates are available on CDC’s web page 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Wuhan, China.
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