Health
CDC confirms first human-to-human transmission of coronavirus in US – CNBC
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.
Public health officials are also monitoring 21 patients in Illinois for possible infections.
Serious situation
“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.
As of Thursday afternoon, 8,137 cases were confirmed in mainland China alone, according to Chinese state media, and more than 100 cases were confirmed elsewhere around the world — bringing the global total to at least 8,248.
Containing the outbreak
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.
Health officials said Thursday that they still don’t know whether the virus is infectious before symptoms. Officials are working with hospitals to make sure health-care providers are “protected,” Messonnier said.
“Despite the case that we are reporting the first instance of person-to-person transmission in the United States, it is important to note that these two individuals were in close contact,” she added.
Passengers wear protective masks to protect against the spread of the Coronavirus as they arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport, California, on January 22, 2020.
Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images
Emergency WHO meeting
The World Health Organization is reconvening an emergency meeting Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET where the organization will decide whether the new virus constitutes a global health emergency.
The coronavirus has spread to a handful of people through human-to-human contact outside of China, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said at a news conference at the organization’s Geneva headquarters Wednesday.
“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,” Ryan said. “What we know at this stage, this is still obviously a very active outbreak and information is being updated and changing by the hour.”
‘Deeply disturbing’
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the “continued increase in cases and the evidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China are, of course, most deeply disturbing.” The illness produces a range of symptoms, with about 20% of the patients developing severe illnesses, including pneumonia and respiratory failure, he said.
“Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak,” Tedros said.
Cruise ship lockdown
In Europe, Costa Cruises is holding near Italy after a Chinese woman came down with a fever, raising concern that she may have the virus, Italian news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata reported. The cruise line Costa Cruises said in a statement that it is holding the 54-year-old woman from Macao in isolation along with her travel companion. “The Health Authority has been immediately notified and is now on board to conduct all the pertinent measures,” the company said. “It is our utmost priority to ensure the health and safety of passengers and crew.”
US flight
CDC officials said Wednesday that a flight carrying U.S. citizens who evacuated from Wuhan arrived safely in California. Officials said all passengers were asked to remain at the March Air Reserve Base for further CDC screening and testing.
As of Wednesday, the CDC was monitoring 165 people across 36 states for the virus, including five patients who contracted the deadly infection in China and brought it back to the U.S. and one of the spouses. At least 68 people have tested negative for the virus, and the CDC is awaiting results for 92 individuals. World health officials say the respiratory disease spreads through human-to-human contact, droplets carried through sneezing and coughing and germs left on inanimate objects.
To see the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit CNBC’s live blog here.
CNBC’s Meg Tirrell contributed to this article.
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Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed a case of measles in Edmonton, and is advising the public that the individual was out in public while infectious.
Measles is an extremely contagious disease that is spread easily through the air, and can only be prevented through immunization.
AHS says individuals who were in the following locations during the specified dates and times, may have been exposed to measles.
- April 16
- Edmonton International Airport, international arrivals and baggage claim area — between 3:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- April 20
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- April 22
- 66th Medical Clinic (13635 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Pharmacy 66 (13637 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- April 23
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 4:40 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.
AHS says anyone who attended those locations during those times is at risk of developing measles if they’ve not had two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine.
Those who have not had two doses, who are pregnant, under one year of age, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk of getting measles and should contact Health Link at 1-877-720-0707.
Symptoms
Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3° C or higher, cough, runny nose, and/or red eyes, a red blotchy rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down the body and then to the arms and legs.
If you have any of these symptoms stay home and call Health Link.
In Alberta, measles vaccine is offered, free of charge, through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program. Children in Alberta typically receive their first dose of measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and their second dose at 18 months of age.
Health
U.S. tightens rules for dairy cows a day after bird flu virus fragments found in pasteurized milk samples – Toronto Star
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Infected cows were already prohibited from being transported out of state, but that was based on the physical characteristics of the milk, which looks curdled when a cow is infected, or a cow has decreased lactation or low appetite, both symptoms of infection.
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