The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday the first case of Coronavirus on American soil, diagnosing an American resident in Seattle who had recently returned from China.
Recently discovered, the coronavirus has sickened more than 300 people and has killed at least 6 in China alone.
So far, the patient is responding well to treatment and was not seriously ill, the CDC and Washington state health officials said.
The first human infection with new #coronavirus (#2019-nCoV) has been reported in the US in a person who recently traveled to Wuhan, China. Additional cases in travelers have been reported in Thailand, Japan, and The Republic of Korea. https://t.co/bbH7gGPuyh pic.twitter.com/cGvFc4DYDZ
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 21, 2020
CDC officials also said they are preparing for more U.S. cases of the coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The CDC has raised its travel alert for Wuhan to a level 2, calling for greater precautions.
Under that level of alert, travelers to Wuhan are advised to avoid contact with sick people, animals or animal markets.
"We know there will be more cases in the United States and around the world," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, a CDC respiratory disease expert, said in a conference call with reporters.
CDC officials said they have begun tracking people who came into contact with the patient to see if they have symptoms.
Last week, the CDC began monitoring travelers from China at U.S. airports in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and on Tuesday the agency said it will expand the virus checking measures to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
In addition to the United States, cases outside China have been reported in South Korea, Thailand and Japan.