Coronavirus Monitoring Of 4 NC Travelers By Health Officials

CHARLOTTE, NC — Four travelers recently in China are now being monitored by Mecklenburg County health officials for possible coronavirus exposure, according to reports.

The monitoring by the Mecklenburg county health department’s communicable disease staff began Friday, The Charlotte Observer said.

The novel coronavirus infection originated last month in Wuhan, China. As of Feb. 7, at least a dozen people in the United States who have tested positive for the virus and at least another 100 tests are pending, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus an international public health emergency.

In North Carolina, the risk to the general public is low, public health officials say, adding that there have been no confirmed cases in the state.

“Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH) is working with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local health departments, health care providers and community partners to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that originated in Wuhan, China,” the county health department said in a notice.

Here’s what Mecklenburg County health officials say you can do to help prevent coronavirus, and all respiratory illnesses:

• Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Get a flu shot, it’s not too late. During this time of year, respiratory illnesses in North Carolina are most likely due to infection with influenza or viruses that cause the common cold.

The first case of human-to-human coronavirus transmission in the United States — affecting a patient in Illinois — was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ABC News reports that the person-to-person spread of the disease in the U.S. prompted WHO officials to issue the international alert.

The death toll in China from the virus has risen to at least 908, with more than 40,000 cases of the disease confirmed in more than a dozen countries, CNN reported Sunday evening. The 12 U.S. cases had been confirmed in Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Washington state, Arizona, and California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory urging Americans to avoid nonessential travel to China due to the spread of the virus.

The new virus is called 2019-nCoV by disease experts.

"VDH is closely monitoring and investigating reports of illness potentially associated with novel coronavirus," according to the department's website. "A Person Under Investigation (PUI) is an individual who meets both clinical and epidemiologic criteria for 2019-nCoV. The information gathered during this investigation helps public health determine if they have novel coronavirus, or if their symptoms may be caused by another respiratory pathogen.

Symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, and trouble breathing, and can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure.

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are part of a large family of viruses that cause illnesses both in humans and animals. In rare cases, animal coronaviruses can evolve to infect people. The new virus is officially referred to as "2019 novel coronavirus" or "2019-nCoV."

If a patient meets the criteria of a patient under investigation in association with the outbreak of the coronavirus:

• Ask the patient to wear a surgical mask.
• Evaluate the patient in a private room with the door closed, ideally in an airborne infection
• isolation room if available.
• Use standard, contact and airborne precautions, and eye protection (e.g., goggles or face shield).
• Immediately notify infection control personnel and your local health department.

At this time, only the CDC laboratories in Atlanta have the capabilities to test for the coronavirus, though it is expected that state public health laboratories will be able to test soon.
Researchers around the globe are still determining precisely how the virus spreads. Many patients in the Wuhan outbreak had visited a large seafood and animal market, but a growing number of patients have no connection.

RELATED: What Is A Novel Coronavirus? Health Officials Explain

Deb Belt, Patch staff, contributed