CDC Confirms 5th U.S. Case of Coronavirus; China Death Toll Exceeds 80

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed a fifth U.S. case of a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV).  

This virus, which has caused an outbreak of respiratory illness, was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Media reports are noting that Chinese health authorities have reported nearly 3,000 thousand infections and 80 deaths connected to the virus as of Monday, January 27 — figures likely to increase.

The five U.S. cases of 2019-nCoV were confirmed in recent travelers from Wuhan in four states: Arizona, California, Illinois and Washington. Other countries with confirmed 2019-nCoV cases include Australia, France and Japan.

Symptoms of 2019-nCoV infections include fever, cough and shortness of breath. CDC believes at this time that symptoms of 2019-nCoV may appear in as few as two days or as long as two weeks after exposure. 

As CDC notes, many of the initially confirmed patients in Wuhan reportedly had a link to a seafood and animal market, which suggested animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients reportedly have not had such exposure to animal markets, which suggests that person-to-person spread is occurring.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently convened an emergency committee regarding the outbreak. WHO has also issued the first edition of infection prevention and control guidance intended for healthcare workers, healthcare managers and infection prevention and control teams. This guidance can be downloaded here.

Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS), a U.S.-based team of infection prevention and infection control consultants, is advising its clients that at this juncture, continue to have office staff prescreen for fever and respiratory symptoms. If patients give a positive history, staff should ask these patients if they have been traveling out of the country, namely to Asia. 

Clients with a heightened level of concern can begin screening all patients for travel to/from China as an additional line item. If clients choose to take this approach, they should have a plan for how they will respond to confirmation of such travel. While ICCS is a firm believer in being proactive, there are many viruses circulating and one should not assume those with common winter colds and flu have coronavirus.

WHO Urgent Challenges List Includes Infectious Diseases, Anti-Microbial Resistance

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its "urgent health challenges for the next decade" list.

Included on it is "stopping infectious diseases" and "protecting the medicines that protect us," which focuses on anti-microbial resistance.

Concerning infectious diseases, WHO states, "Infectious diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and sexually-transmitted infections will kill an estimated 4 million people in 2020, most of them poor. Meanwhile, vaccine-preventable diseases continue to kill, such as measles, which took 140,000 lives in 2019, many of them children. Although polio has been driven to the brink of eradication, there were 156 cases of wild poliovirus last year, the most since 2014."

Concerning anti-microbial resistance, WHO states, "Anti-microbial resistance threatens to send modern medicine back decades to the pre-antibiotic era, when even routine surgeries were hazardous. The rise of anti-microbial resistance stems from myriad factors that have come together to create a terrifying brew, including unregulated prescription and use of antibiotics, lack of access to quality and affordable medicines, and lack of clean water, sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention and control."

Other issues on the WHO list include "preparing for epidemics;" "keeping healthcare clean," which focuses on water sanitation and hygiene; and "investing in the people who defend our health," which shines a light on health worker shortages.

In its discussion about each health challenge, WHO summarizes the efforts it is undertaking to combat the issue.

FDA: Stop Using Certain Cardinal Health Surgical Gowns, Packs

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is advising providers to discontinue use of certain Cardinal Health surgical gowns and PreSource procedural packs that include the surgical gowns because of possible contamination.

As an FDA statement notes, On January 11 and 15, Cardinal alerted customers to potential quality issues affecting some of its Level 3 surgical gowns and PreSource packs. In the letter, Cardinal Health stated, "We are advising customers to discontinue use and segregate all affected surgical gowns and procedure packs that include these affected surgical gowns from your current inventory."

Level 3 gowns provide moderate risk protection and are used in many surgical procedures, such as open-heart surgery and knee replacements. They are intended to be worn to protect the patient and healthcare personnel from transfer of microorganisms, body fluids, and particulate material. 

FDA's is advising customers to discontinue use of these products because "… the manufacturer cannot provide assurance the products are sterile."

A HealthLeaders report notes that Cardinal Health is planning to recall the items after learning of potential cross-contamination at its China manufacturing plant.

FDA states that customers with questions about whether their inventory is affected should contact Cardinal Health.