The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly expected to announce the first U.S. case of Wuhan virus, according to CNN. The patient was diagnosed in Everett, Washington, a town near Seattle.
The patient is a man in his 30s who recently traveled to Wuhan and was hospitalized for pneumonia last week.
The new coronavirus has been causing panic in China as it infected approximately 300 people and killed six.
The outbreak has been reported in five countries, including the United States, a source told CNN.
The circumstances of the virus’s arrival in the U.S. are not known, and it is unclear how many patients are or may be infected by the virus. Last week, the CDC began screening travelers from Wuhan for the virus at three airports.
The Wuhan virus, first named 2019-nCoV, began in Wuhan, China, and has since made appearances in populous cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to determine if the virus should be declared a public health emergency.
Cases emerged in other Asian countries, namely Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan.
Coronaviruses are usually found among animals like camels, cats and bats, and in rare events, can be transmitted to humans.
Published on Jan 21,2020