Published 13:17 IST, January 24th 2020
US probes second suspected case of coronavirus
US has reported a second suspected case of the Chinese coronavirus, a college student who has recently returned to from the city at the heart of the outbreak.
US has reported a second suspected case of the deadly Chinese coronavirus. A college student who has recently returned from the city which is the centre of the outbreak has been tested positive, according to the officials on January 24. Brazos County, situated northwest of Houston, Texas is investigating a suspected case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, according to its health authority's statement on Facebook. The patient reportedly travelled from Wuhan, the city which is the centre of the epidemic, it added. The patient's age is expected to be between 20 and 30 and they returned to the US, where they are attending Texas A&M University, days before health screenings began at airports on January 15, as per the reports.
Patient showed mild upper respiratory symptoms
The patient showed mild upper respiratory symptoms including cough and congestion and now appears to be improving.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday announced the first case of a person on American soil sickened by a new mystery virus that emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. According to reports, while in China, the man travelled to the Wuhan area, where the virus is believed to originate. It has since spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai. The US resident had no symptoms when he arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma airport last Wednesday, but he contacted doctors on Sunday when he started feeling ill, officials said.
Fifth country to report
The US is the fifth country to report a case of the illness. Over 500 cases have been reported in China, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. Late last week, U.S. health officials began screening passengers from central China at three U.S. airports — New York City’s Kennedy airport and the Los Angeles and San Francisco airports. Officials around the world have implemented similar airport screenings in hopes of containing the virus during the busy Lunar New Year travel season, as per reports.
Updated 13:17 IST, January 24th 2020