Novel Coronavirus: Guidance, Information, Resources
The MESH Coalition has created a specific webpage for all things related to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. This hot topic is just a piece of the information provided on this webpage, as well as info distributed through our Daily Situational Awareness Brief’s. All information provided is via The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The World Health Organization. That webpage can be found by clicking the novel coronavirus banner image on the MESH Coalition homepage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (termed “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and which continues to expand. Chinese health officials have reported hundreds of infections with 2019-nCoV in China, including outside of Hubei Province. A number of countries, including the United States, have been actively screening incoming travelers from Wuhan and human infections with 2019-nCoV have been confirmed in Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. The United States announced their first infection with 2019-nCoV detected in a traveler returning from Wuhan on January 21, 2020. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with MERS and SARS. When person-to-person spread has occurred with SARS and MERS, it is thought to have happened via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Spread of SARS and MERS between people has generally occurred between close contacts. Past MERS and SARS outbreaks have been complex, requiring comprehensive public health responses. The Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering has built and is regularly updating an online dashboard for tracking the worldwide spread of the coronavirus outbreak that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The following resources are available with information on 2019-nCoV
To access the CDC’s homepage for the novel coronavirus go here: CDC novel coronavirus
To access the WHO’s homepage for the novel coronavirus go here: WHO novel coronavirus