WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (KUNA) -- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Friday confirmed the second infection with 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States has been detected in Illinois. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019, Nancy Messonnier, Director of the US Senters' National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseasess said in a videoconference.
The patient returned to the U.S. from Wuhan on January 13, 2020, and called a health care provider after experiencing symptoms a few days later. The patient was admitted to a hospital, where infection control measures were taken to reduce the risk of transmission to other individuals, she added.
The patient remains hospitalized in an isolation room in stable condition and is doing well, Messonnier noted.
The patient has limited close contacts, all of whom are currently well and who will be monitored for symptoms. Since returning from China, the patient has had very limited movement outside the home, she affirmed.
CDC believed in a statement that the immediate risk to the U.S. public is low at this time, but the situation is evolving rapidly.
"We have our best people working on this problem," it added.
CDC is taking aggressive public health measures to help protect the health of Americans. While CDC considers this a serious public health threat.
It is likely there will be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, it added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, it noted. (end) asj.mt