Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital takes precautions for coronavirus

GENEVA – No one has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in Kane County, but officials at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital are taking precautions with everyone who walks into the ER with symptoms associated with the deadly virus.

Dr. Steven Lewis, medical director of infection prevention, said that all patients who have a fever and respiratory symptoms are screened for travel history, especially recent travel to China, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. If someone is showing symptoms of the illness, Lewis said appropriate testing for the virus is conducted with the Kane County Health Department.

"The risk to the general public is small. There are a lot of controlled measures in place," Lewis explained. "The U.S. is being proactive about identifying and isolating [those with the virus]. There are a lot of unknowns about this virus, but I don't think people should be alarmed. They should just be aware."

Delnor does have isolation rooms for those who have symptoms of infectious diseases. If a patient were to present with coronavirus symptoms, Lewis said they would be placed in a private room, and staff would be required to wear gowns, gloves and masks when entering the patient's room.

"The level of precaution we're taking is greater now because we don't know how this is transmitted. But I don't think there is a danger to anyone in this area at this point," he said. "People should continue to do the same things they do to prevent any virus, like having good hand hygiene, avoiding exposure to people with known illness, covering their nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing."

Lewis explained that researchers in the U.S. and throughout the world continue to investigate the virus, which he said attacks the lungs. He said there is still much to be learned about how it's transmitted and how it "behaves."

There have been about 8,000 cases reported throughout China, and 170 have died, Lewis said.

"This virus can cause pneumonia and severe respiratory disease," he said. "Hopefully we can work together internationally to implement control measures. There's a lot of work being done with the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are trying to put in appropriate measures to screen and contain the virus."

The latest case to be diagnosed in the U.S. — the sixth in the country — is the husband of a Chicago woman who got sick from the virus after she returned from Wuhan, China. There have been previous cases in China and elsewhere of the virus spreading between people in a household or workplace.

The other five U.S. cases were travelers who developed the respiratory illness after returning to the U.S. from China. The latest patient had not been in China.

The Chicago woman came back from Wuhan on Jan. 13, then last week went to a hospital with symptoms and was diagnosed with the viral illness. She and her husband, both in their 60s, are hospitalized. Neither have been identified.

The man began feeling sick Tuesday and was put in isolation that day. Tests confirming that he was infected came back Wednesday night, officials said.

The virus can cause fever, coughing, wheezing and pneumonia. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.

The new virus is a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.

Older people, and those with other health conditions, are believed to be at greater risk for severe illness from the virus. The new patient has a health condition, but health officials did not say what it is.

An international outbreak caused by the virus first emerged last month in China. Doctors there began seeing the new virus in people who got sick after spending time at a wholesale food market in Wuhan. Officials said the virus probably initially spread from animals to people, as did SARS and MERS.

The other U.S. cases are in Arizona, Southern California and Washington state.

The Associated Press contributed to this report