Guidance Updated for Novel Coronavirus

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

The CDC has released new guidance for clinicians regarding the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that has sickened over 200 people in China and killed three, according to news accounts. Cases have also been reported in Japan, Thailand, and South Korea.

Patients meeting the following criteria should be considered a person under investigation for 2019-nCoV:

• Fever plus symptoms of lower respiratory illness and in the past 14 days, either a history of travel from Wuhan City, China, or close contact with a person who is under investigation for 2019-nCoV while that person was ill.

• Fever or lower respiratory illness symptoms and in the past 14 days, close contactwith a laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV patient while they were ill.

If clinicians are caring for a person under investigation for 2019-nCoV, they should immediately notify their healthcare facility's infection control department and their local or state health department. The CDC recommends that such patients be evaluated in an airborne infection isolation room if possible. Standard precautions, contact precautions, and airborne precautions should be followed. Clinicians should also use eye protection.

The CDC has begun screening travelers from Wuhan at three U.S. airports: New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO).