On Tuesday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first U.S. case of the deadly new coronavirus. The CDC and Washington state officials said the man, in his 30s, was in good condition at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett.
The coronavirus has killed six people in China and hundreds have been diagnosed, most in the city of Wuhan. It has spread to other areas of the country, and a handful of cases have been diagnosed in Thailand, South Korea and Japan.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as pneumonia to Middle East respiratory syndrome, known as MERS, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Common signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death.
The virus can be spread from animals to people, but it also can be spread by coughing, sneezing and through close contact with an infected person or an object carrying the virus. There is no vaccine yet and no specific treatment for the coronavirus, but recommended measures are similar to those for cold, such as rest and drinking a lot of fluid.
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