Alexi Cohan
Boston Herald
CHICAGO — A Chicago woman has become the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus from China, health officials announced Friday.
The woman in her 60s returned from China on Jan. 13 without showing any signs of illness, but a few days later she called her doctor to report feeling sick.
The patient is doing well and remains hospitalized “primarily for infection control,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner. People that the women had close contact with are also being monitored.
There will likely be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this week, a man in Washington state was diagnosed with the virus after returning from a trip to China.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC said the risk to the U.S. public remains low but that it’s likely more cases will be diagnosed in the coming days, as the virus appears to have a two-week incubation period.
Nationally, more than 2,000 returning travelers have been screened at U.S. airports and 63 patients in 22 states were being tested, although 11 of them so far have been found free of the virus, the CDC said.
Right now, the CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Wuhan, China.
The CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center to better provide ongoing support.
Herald wire services contributed to this report.
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