Atlanta Airport Travelers Screened For Deadly Wuhan Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — One case in the United States of a new respiratory virus that has sickened hundreds in China and led to at least six deaths in that country has been confirmed, and screening will start for it starts in Atlanta this week. Washington state health officials said Tuesday morning a man in his 30s was being treated in isolation at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett for the Wuhan coronavirus.

On Jan. 17, the Centers for Disease Control began public health entry screening at airports in San Francisco, Kennedy in New York and Los Angeles. This week the CDC will add entry health screening at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

There is one daily direct flight between Atlanta and Shanghai, plus two to three more that connect from Asia, WXIA reports. "However, according to CBP (Customs and Border Protection), we do not expect to get a large influx of passengers from the affected area,"spokesperson Elise M. Durham said.

The New York Times reports the outbreak was first identified last month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Washington state man returned from Wuhan, China last Wednesday, and went to a health clinic a short time later with respiratory symptoms. Based on his recent travel, doctors collected samples and sent them to the CDC overnight, where laboratory testing quickly confirmed the illness. A CDC team was sent to Washington and is working to track down anyone else who had contact with the man.

Information on how the virus behaves is minimal, and health officials are working to learn how easily it can spread from person to person. An update posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website Tuesday described an "emerging, rapidly evolving situation" and acknowledged there were many questions that still need to be answered.

"Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with MERS and SARS. Past MERS and SARS outbreaks have been complex, requiring comprehensive public health responses. Many of the patients in the outbreak in Wuhan, China have reportedly had some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients reportedly have not had exposure to animal markets, suggesting limited person-to-person spread is occurring."

The CDC said notices were sent to all airports with flights that originated from Wuhan.

More than 300 cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide.

Learn more about the outbreak on the CDC website.