First Wuhan coronavirus case in U.S. appears in Snohomish County

A Snohomish County man was recently diagnosed as the first person infected in the U.S. with the Wuhan coronavirus.

The virus had never been seen before by scientists until mid-December 2019 when an outbreak started in Wuhan, China.

As of Jan. 24, 2020, more than 500 people have been confirmed to have the virus and at least 25 people have died, all in China.

A second individual in Chicago has also been identified with the Wuhan coronavirus as of press time.

As this is a new infection scientists are not sure how long patients are infection for. The virus is described as a respiratory virus with symptoms similar to the common cold or the flu.

The incubation period is believed to be for about 14 days.

“The virus has recently been identified in a resident from Washington state,” said Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee.

As of Jan. 24 health officials say a few more than 40 people had contact with the infected individual in the U.S.

Inslee said that “high anxiety” is not called for at this time.

“There isn’t a risk level that suggests anybody should be doing anything they wouldn’t normally do,” he said. “However, we do take this very seriously.”

Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiseman agreed that the risk was low.

“At this point people should follow their normal routine,” he said.

Wiseman said the same general health tips should be followed, so people should stay home if sick and wash their hands.

Those who come down with flu or cold symptoms do not need to be concerned unless they have had some exposure to the Wuhan area of China, officials say.

A hotline from the Washington State Department of Health is now available for those with questions about the Wuhan coronavirus. It is available by dialing 1-800-525-0127 and pressing #.

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett took in the infected individual.

“The patient is currently in satisfactory condition,” said Dr. Jay Cook, chief medical officer at Providence.

“The person-to-person transmission is believed to be relatively low, however out of an abundance of caution we have put them in an isolation unit,” he said.

The infected individual was returning from a trip to China. They are an immigrant and legal resident of the U.S., and Inslee said they were traveling to their “original home” as part of the trip.

“On Jan. 15, he returned, through SeaTac Airport, to his residence,” said Inslee. Soon after the individual came down with an illness and visited the clinic.

“At that time it was recommended to him that he stay in isolation at his home,” said Inslee.

By Jan. 19 “the samples were tested by the CDC in Atlanta and were confirmed.”

The individual with the infection was transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and put in an isolated room.

The room was built by the hospital in response to the Ebola outbreak of a couple years ago and this is the first time it’s been put to the test.

The ventilation for the room does not circulate to other patients.

Many organizations have come together in response to the infection.

“Once we learned about the case the Snohomish Health District coordinated with Snohomish County emergency responders to bring the patient to Providence,” said Dr. Chris Spitters, health officer for the Snohomish Health District.

CDC officials also came to the state to help with response and identifying potential exposure risks.

“No one wants to be the first in the nation with this problem,” said Spitters, but so far the response has gone smoothly.