MISSOULA - Health officials are asking residents who have traveled to China, Italy, South Korea, Japan or Iran to contact them as soon as possible as these countries have experienced sustained or widespread coronavirus cases.
“If anyone has recently visited the countries of concern, we need them to talk to the health department,” Missoula City-County Health Department Health Promotion Division Director Cindy Farr said. “We want to make sure they don’t develop symptoms.”
People who have traveled to the affected countries in the last 14 days should call (406) 258-3896.
The department is also asking people to watch for symptoms such as a fever greater than 100.4 F, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
Those who do develop symptoms should call their medical provider and stay home except to receive medical treatment. Farr also said that despite the hype, wearing masks is not a recommended way to prevent the disease.
“We need the public’s help at this point,” Farr said. “There’s no cause for panic, but being aware and increasing basic things like hand washing can go a long way,” Farr said.
Missoula County has been increasing communications and collaboration with state and local partners as the situation unfolds.
Residents with questions or concerns can call 406-258-INFO from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Accurate, updated information also is available here .
While Missoula County currently does not have any cases, the health department encourages the public to take the following basic precautions:
- Avoid close contact with people who are ill.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Frequently clean and disinfect surfaces with regular household cleaners.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the restroom, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.
- If soap and water are not available for handwashing, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Do not travel to areas identified as being at elevated risk for the virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more information about coronavirus on their website , including the following:
Background
CDC is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in China and which has now been detected in 60 locations internationally, including in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).
On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “ public health emergency of international concernexternal icon ” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19.
Source and Spread of the Virus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV , SARS-CoV , and now with this new virus (named SARS-CoV-2).
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats. The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir.
Early on, many of the patients at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. Later, a growing number of patients reportedly did not have exposure to animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread. Person-to-person spread was subsequently reported outside Hubei and in countries outside China, including in the United States . Some international destinations now have apparent community spread with the virus that causes COVID-19, meaning some people have been infected who are not sure how or where they became infected. Learn what is known about the spread of newly emerged coronaviruses .
