Washington state health authorities believe the virus has been circulating for weeks without being detected
The death toll from Wuhan’s new coronavirus has increased from one to six in just 48 hours in the United States. All the deceased were in the State of Washington, where the country’s first contagion was recorded in a man who had traveled to Wuhan, China. On Sunday, state health authorities warned that the virus may have been circulating for weeks without being detected, which means hundreds of infected potentials. The first deceased, registered on Saturday, was a man in his 50s.
Dr. Jeff Dunchin, chief of medical services for Seattle and King County, which includes the city of the northwestern United States, reported that there are a total of 14 cases in this area. Eight of them are related to an asylum for the elderly. At least four of the six deceased are elderly or with previous illnesses. The total number of coronavirus patients in the United States is 91 spread across 10 states, according to figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the federal authority.
Washington state authorities expect the number of cases to continue to grow, Dunchin said Monday. However, he reiterated that most cases are not serious and ruled out recommending drastic measures such as canceling events or closing schools.
Experts at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington announced Monday that a genetic analysis of two of the cases indicates that the coronavirus has been circulating through the State of Washington for weeks without being detected. The suspicion comes from the fact that a case detected last Friday has genetic similarities with the first infected in the state, on January 20, that is, it comes from that. The incubation period of the virus is up to 14 days.
During the weekend, the authorities of the three states of the Pacific, California, Oregon and Washington, have confirmed up to four cases of contagion of “unknown origin”, the worst scenario in terms of control of the epidemic. These are cases of people who have not traveled to China, nor are they known to have had contact with anyone who has traveled to China. That is, the trace of contagion has been lost.
From El País.
