CHICAGO (WGN) — A Chicago woman has infected her husband in the first U.S. case of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials confirmed Thursday.
This is the sixth case of the virus in the United States. Two are in California, two in Illinois, one in Washington and one in Arizona.
The Chicago woman, who is in her 60s, recently traveled to Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus was first identified, to take care of her sick father. Her husband did not travel to China.
The woman is currently under quarantine at AMITA Health St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, a village in Cook County.
The husband is also hospitalized in stable condition, but health officials did not say where.
Local health officials said that the risk of contracting coronavirus for people in Illinois remains low.
Meanwhile, health screenings are still underway at O’Hare Airport for those coming in from China. Symptoms of the deadly virus include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
The number of cases of the virus in China, where it has killed at least 170 people, shot up to more than 8,100 in mainland China alone by Thursday evening, CNN reports.
While the virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, there are now more than 100 cases in 20 other countries and territories spanning Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East. India and the Philippines were the latest to confirm the virus had reached their shores.
This is a developing story; CNN Wire contributed to this report.
Click here for our full coverage on the coronavirus outbreak.
