CDC to providers: Be on lookout for mysterious pneumonia cases

The CDC in a Jan. 8 advisory notice urged clinicians to look for symptoms of pneumonia among any patients who recently visited China.

If providers identify a patient with an unexplained severe respiratory illness, they should notify local and state health officials immediately.

The notice comes amid a mysterious pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, which has sickened 59 people since Dec. 12. Scientists discovered a new strain of coronavirus in some patient samples, but health officials have yet to identify this strain as the definitive source of the outbreak.

The outbreak is potentially linked to a local market that sold live animals. At present, health officials have not found any evidence of the strain spreading through human transmission.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/cdc-to-providers-be-on-lookout-for-mysterious-pneumonia-cases.html