The first case of the deadly coronavirus sweeping Asia has been detected in the United States, officials announced Tuesday

A Washington state man was diagnosed with the flu-like illness, after returning from a trip to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The unnamed patient, who is in his 30s and a resident of Snohomish County, which is north of Seattle, arrived in the US on an indirect flight to Seattle-Tacoma airport on Jan. 15 — before airports began screening travelers from Wuhan, officials said.

He began experiencing symptoms of the dangerous illness and contacted doctors Sunday after researching the coronavirus online, they said.

His diagnosis was confirmed Monday, and he remains hospitalized at Providence Regional Medical Center, according to the CDC.

He is in stable condition and is being monitored and quarantined “out of an abundance of caution” as officials work to retrace his steps, the agency said.

It’s unclear how the man became infected or whether he has transmitted the virus to anyone else.

He is not known to have visited the wholesale markets in Wuhan believed to be at the center of the outbreak.

The virus — which causes pneumonia-like upper respiratory symptoms — can spread from human to human, though the exact nature of the transmission is unclear, officials said.

“We and the global health community are really working to understand the situation,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“Information is rapidly evolving and we’re hoping over the next few days it will become clearer”

The news came as the death toll from the virus rose to six Tuesday, with the number of reported cases in China growing to more than 300.

Most of those who have died were aged 60 or older, and some who had a previous medical condition.

The US is the fifth country to find a patient infected with the virus, after cases were also reported in China, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.