An Indonesian health official monitors as passengers from an international flight have their temperature checked as they pass a thermal scanner monitor upon arrival at the Adisucipto International Airport on January 23, 2020 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Credit: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images )

Should you worry about the Wuhan coronavirus?

Since December, the Wuhan coronavirus has killed at least 17 people and sickened close to 600. Here's an explanation of who is at risk.

Patti Verbanas-Rutgers • futurity
Jan. 23, 2020 1 minSource

person in uniform and another in face mask and "health quarantine" vest in front of screen in airport

Since December, the Wuhan coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed at least 17 people and sickened close to 600.

Cases continue to spread globally, with one identified in Washington state.

In response to the evolving outbreak, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has redirected US-bound travelers from Wuhan to five airports for screening at JFK New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago’s O’Hare.

The Chinese government has quarantined the city of Wuhan, shut down its airport and public transportation, and expanded the public transportation shutdown to at least four more cities.

Debra Chew is a former epidemic intelligence officer for the Centers for Disease Control, and an assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and medical director for infection prevention and control at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.

Here, she discusses what we know about the new infectious disease and who is most at risk:

The post Should you worry about the Wuhan coronavirus? appeared first on Futurity.


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