CDC sends team to Washington state after virus case

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sent a team of investigators to Washington state to find people who came in contact with a traveler from Wuhan, China, to determine if anyone else has been infected with the coronavirus.

The Washington state man in his 30s recently traveled to Wuhan, a city of 11 million that is the capital of Central China's Hubei province. The man, whose name wasn't released, has been hospitalized and is in stable condition, according to news reports.

"This certainly is not a moment for panic," Washington Governor Jay Inslee told USA Today. "It is a moment for vigilance."

Researchers also have developed a test that can determine if a person is infected by the current strain of the virus and will share the information with state and local health officials, the CDC said.

The CDC said Thursday it would continue to monitor the spread of the potentially deadly after the World Health Organization (WHO) said an outbreak in China didn't pose a global risk.

The virus has spread from China to other Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore. Chinese officials quickly restricted travel in and out of Wuhan, where the outbreak began, to contain the virus.

"While CDC considers this is a serious public health concern based on current information, the immediate health risk from (the current virus strain) to the general American public is considered low at this time," the US health agency said. "Nevertheless, CDC is taking proactive preparations and precautions."

However, isolation of the only known case in the US doesn't mean the virus has been contained and that others won't be infected.

"More cases are likely to be identified in the coming days, including possibly more cases in the US," the CDC warned.

There is no vaccine for the current strain of the virus, which Chinese officials said has infected about 830 people and killed at least 25. The first US case was detected Jan 21.

The outbreak is believed to have started in December at a seafood and meat market in Wuhan, suggesting an initial animal-to-person spread. But an increasing number of people infected with the virus had no exposure to the markets, suggesting person-to-person spread, the CDC said.

The coronaviruses are named for the crownlike spikes on their surfaces. Most infections are limited to animals, including pigs and cats. In recent years, the coronaviruses have caused worldwide outbreaks among humans, but it's not conclusively known how easily the current strain of the virus is spread between people, health officials said.

Researchers have identified seven strains of the virus known to infect humans. Most strains lead to common colds, but two can be deadly and cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the CDC said.