Wuhan coronavirus reaches USA, becomes serious threat to Russia

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States have confirmed the first case of Chinese coronavirus in the US.

It goes about the patient, who returned to Washington State from China on January 15. Upon returning from the trip, he turned to doctors who suspected that the person could be infected with the new coronavirus. Further tests confirmed the diagnosis. According to the Washington Post, the person arrived in the USA from China before federal health services started inspecting travelers at three largest US airports.

In connection with the identified case of the disease, Central American countries enhance   the epidemiological monitoring of travelers from foreign countries. Sanitary measures are being taken by health ministries of the following countries:

• Guatemala
• Panama
• Costa Rica
• Nicaragua.

Meanwhile, the new type of coronavirus has already killed nine people in China, while 440 cases of the infection have been confirmed, deputy head of the State Committee on Hygiene and Health of the People's Republic of China, Li Bin, stated at a news conference.

"Medics have been able to identify the airborne transmission for the virus to enter the human body," the official said. 

He called on the population of the country and foreigners not to travel to the city of Wuhan even on the days of the "Spring Festival" - the lunar New Year, when, families traditionally travel to gather together. The authorities of the DPRK also decided to temporarily close the border for foreign tourists.

The Chinese official admitted that it was the city of Wuhan that became the source of the new virus. The Chinese authorities immediately informed the WHO and China's neighboring countries, including Russia, about the appearance of the virus.

Chinese academician Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that the it was wild animals illegally sold on the Wuhan market that became the source of the coronavirus, which the media dubbed as Wuhan flu. On Wednesday, the Macau authorities reported the first case of the new infection. The virus was found in a 52-year-old woman, who came to Macau from Wuhan. She was admitted to a local hospital on Tuesday afternoon with pneumonia, which was caused by the new type of coronavirus.

Russia admits the Wuhan flu is dangerous

Russian Deputy Health Minister Sergei Kraevoy also admitted the danger of the new virus 2019-nCoV.

In February, Russia's Health Ministry will prepare an express test to identify the new virus. The US National Institute of Health (NIH) started working on the vaccine against this virus. First clinical trials of the vaccine will take place no earlier than in a few months, while the vaccine will be available no earlier than in a year.

In 2002, during the outbreak of SARS epidemic, more than 8,000 people were infected with the virus in about 30 countries, and 774 people died during the period from November 2002 to July 2003. The Chinese government then tried to take every effort to conceal the scale of the epidemic.