First person-to-person transmission of coronavirus in U.S., WHO declares a public health emergency

For the first time in the United States, the coronavirus has been spread from person to person, federal health authorities said Thursday.

The patient is the sixth confirmed case of the upper respiratory infection in this country. A Chicago resident, he was infected by close contact with his wife, who had traveled to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Given what we’ve seen in China and other countries with the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the U.S.,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield. “We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low.”

So far, epidemiologists estimate that each person infected with the new coronavirus is infecting roughly two people on average — putting it in the same realm as the 2003 SARS epidemic and the seasonal flu, but well below measles.

Still, China had more than 9,692 confirmed coronavirus cases by Thursday morning, including 213 deaths, according to the Associated Press. That is despite the country’s efforts to stop the spread of the virus by restricting 50 million people in Hubei province to their region, the epicenter of the outbreak.

In the United States, the CDC has investigated 165 possible cases, with only six confirmed so far. In addition to Illinois, cases have been confirmed in California, Arizona, and Washington state.

Outside the U.S., infections have been confirmed in France, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Cambodia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, and Sri Lanka.

In response, the World Health Organization on Thursday declared coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern. WHO has used the designation only six times in the past, notably when the Ebola virus and the Zika virus spread internationally.

The emergency declaration imposes more disease reporting requirements on countries, and tends to bring more resources to a crisis. However, nervous governments may restrict travel and trade — measures WHO has said are unnecessary.

Just last week, the WHO committee was divided on whether to declare an emergency, which it defines as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.

But on Thursday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters gathered in Geneva that the rapid spread of the virus, which emerged late last month, is worrisome.

“The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries," he said. “Our greatest concern is the potential for this virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems which are ill-prepared to deal with it."

He also stressed that the declaration was not a criticism of China and that WHO continues to commend China’s response to the outbreak.