DOUGLAS COUNTY —Kansas currently has no confirmed cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. However, one person is under investigation and being investigated for the virus in Douglas County.
The patient was in China where there is a lot of the virus and thought it would be wise to let officials know that they had symptoms including fever and cough typical of the virus, according to KDHE Secretary Lee Norman, M.D.
The patient is doing well and remains in isolation, according to Norman. Tests have been sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The test results have not come back yet, according Norman. They are expected Thursday or Friday.
"We've had an all hands meeting with local health officials, the hospital where the patient is in isolation and state health officials and I think we have a really good plan for monitoring this and if necessary to trace down any contacts."
State health officials continue to work with CDC and other health agencies to learn more about this virus. If you have influenza-like symptoms and have recently been to or around Wuhan, China or around someone who has been to Wuhan, China and was sick, we encourage you to contact your health provider.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Chinese authorities identified the new coronavirus, which has resulted in hundreds of confirmed cases in China, including cases outside Wuhan, with additional cases being identified in a growing number of countries internationally. The first case in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. This is an ongoing investigation and information is changing rapidly. For update information on the outbreak, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
People in the United States commonly get infected with human coronaviruses and there are four types that are the most common. These types of coronaviruses can be detected on respiratory virus panels that are commonly performed at many hospitals and clinical laboratories. Sometimes coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve and make people sick and become a new human coronavirus. An example of this is the newly identified 2019-nCoV first detected in Wujan, China. This coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, would not be detected on the respiratory virus panels commonly used in the United States and can only be tested for at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.