The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has just announced that a possible case of coronavirus is now being investigated in North Carolina. The person now under quarantine recently traveled to China and passed through Wuhan City, where the outbreak first originated.
According to a press release by the NCDHHS, “This person arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Jan. 23, 2020. The patient presented with mild respiratory symptoms and is currently in good condition and being cared for in isolation at Duke University Hospital. The Division of Public Health is arranging testing for the novel coronavirus at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A diagnosis cannot be confirmed at this time. DHHS will update the public as soon as the results from the CDC are available.”
The Coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China in December and has since spread to most provinces of the country. So far there have been 846 cases confirmed with at least 26 people having already died from the virus.
This week’s Chinese New Year holiday has increased concerns of a pandemic as hundreds of millions of Chinese residents and visitors travel across the country to visit friends, relatives, and tourist sights.
Here in the United States, the first confirmed case of the coronavirus was announced on Tuesday in Washington State, and the second was confirmed by the CDC yesterday morning in Chicago.
According to the CDC, patients with confirmed 2019-nCoV infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:
- fever
- cough
- shortness of breath
CDC believes at this time that symptoms of 2019-nCoV may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 after exposure. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of MERS viruses.
Some of the best ways to protect against the coronavirus include;
- Wash your hands often with antiviral soap, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are are coughing or sneezing.
- Using NAC (N-acetyl L-cysteine)
- Using probiotics (especially those containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium)
- Immunity boosting vitamins, including; zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D3
