Thailand novel coronavirus: WHO with more details

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

In a follow-up on the imported, lab-confirmed novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reported in Thailand, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided additional details in a news release today.

The case is a 61-year-old Chinese woman living in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. On 5 January 2020, she developed fever with chills, sore throat and headache. On 8 January 2020, she took a direct flight to Thailand from Wuhan City together with five family members in a tour group of 16 people. The traveler with febrile illness was detected on the same day by thermal surveillance at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Thailand, and was hospitalized the same day. After temperature check and initial assessment, she was transferred to the hospital for further investigations and treatment.

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She reported a history of visiting a local fresh market in Wuhan on regular basis prior to the onset of illness on 5 January 2020; however, she did not report visiting the Huanan South China Seafood Market from where most of the cases were detected.

As the traveler did not report having visited the market linked to most of the other cases, WHO says it is vital that investigations continue to identify the source of infection.