Novel Coronavirus Shows Signs of Human-to-Human Transmission

Elizabeth R. Fischer/Rocky Mountain Labs/NIAID/NIH

The CDC issued warnings to State and Local health officials this past Thursday regarding the novel coronavirus that has killed 8 out of 14 infected.The warning comes after three confirmed British infections which suggest the virus can be transmitted from human-to-human.

The British infections occurred after a British man traveled to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and then back home. Samples from the man show that he was infected with both the novel coronavirus and H1N1 (swine flu). After the man arrived home two of his family members became infected with the novel coronavirus. This is the basis for the human-to-human transmission of the virus. Of the two family members, one healthy female who developed a respiratory illness has recovered, the second, an elderly man who already had an underlying illness passed away.

The mortality rate is currently 57.14% based on the deaths of the 8 of 14 confirmed cases as of this writing.

The CDC said people who develop a severe acute lower respiratory illness within 10 days of returning from the Arabian Peninsula or neighboring countries should continue to be evaluated according to current guidelines.

The CDC has set up a special website with updates on the infections at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/ncv/