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US Airports to screen passengers from Wuhan, China for the Coronavirus
China is in great danger due to the coronavirus. So, US airports are now taking prompt actions for the prevention of the virus. They screen all passengers from Wuhan, China.
US Health Officials said that all passengers from Wuhan, China, are at the centre of an outbreak of a new and deadly respiratory virus, will be screened upon arrival at three airports in the U.S., starting with New York's JFK Airport. The only other U.S. airport with direct flights from Wuhan, China, is San Francisco International Airport, which has the next flight scheduled to arrive on Saturday morning. The third airport, Los Angeles's LAX handles connecting flights from Wuhan, and U.S. officials will be looking for any ill passengers on those flights.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has dispatched officials to those airports just before the peak China-to-U.S. travel season, with an estimated 5,000 people expected to travel from Wuhan to the U.S. for the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 25. Overall, CDC officials said that they believe the current risk of the virus spreading in the U.S. is low. But they are concerned that anytime this virus may attack this region as well. It means populations don't have existing immunity, and they don't have specific treatments or vaccines.
The newly discovered coronavirus is called 2019 nCoV. As of Friday afternoon, at least 45 cases had been reported in China. Most have been linked to a large market in Wuhan with live animals. But there is also some evidence, which shows the virus can spread from person to person. Two deaths have already been reported. Three cases have been identified outside of China; one in Japan and two in Thailand. Though not much is known about the new virus, it doesn't appear to spread easily. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases told NBC News, 'So far none of the health care providers who have taken care of the people in China has acquired the infection, so we hope it's not readily transmissible'.
Incoming passengers from Wuhan will be screened for respiratory symptoms and fever. Anyone suspected of having the virus will be triaged and quarantined until testing can be done, which may take a day. Coronaviruses can cause a range of symptoms including runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Some are mild, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia. Still, there's no indication that this particular virus is as dangerous as SARS, another coronavirus that was first detected in China. The 2003 SARS outbreak reached more than two dozen countries, sickening 8,098 people as nearly 800 died. Since then, there have been no new cases of SARS reported anywhere in the world. Another coronavirus, MERS, is particularly deadly. It was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and causes severe respiratory illness, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the CDC.
