ALTON - OSF HealthCare leaders have been closely monitoring all developments with the latest coronavirus but at least one infection prevention expert
says the risk to most of the population is low.
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Lori Grooms, director of Infection Prevention for OSF HealthCare, says human coronaviruses are common throughout the world and commonly cause mild to moderate illness in people worldwide. However, the emergence of novel (new) coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, have been associated with more severe respiratory illness.
With the latest coronavirus, now being referred to as 2019 nCOV (for the year it was first reported, for novel, and COV for coronavirus), she says most people are not at risk.
“There should be a minimal concern for most of our population with the fact that most of these cases have been brought over from China. They all had related travel from Wuhan, China,” Grooms stressed.
Grooms says the virus has a 14-day incubation period, meaning symptoms would develop within 14 days of exposure. A person’s risk would be evaluated using a two-pronged approach.
“I have to have traveled to Wuhan, China and I have to have respiratory symptoms. So, I have to have a fever, a cough, shortness of breath, even potentially diarrhea but it’s the two of those that go hand in hand that put me at risk for having this novel coronavirus and needing to be isolated and tested,” she explained.
After two days of deliberations, an emergency committee convened by the World Health Organization decided not to declare a global health emergency — but planned to meet again within 10 days, acknowledging the “urgency” of the situation.
The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has risen to five. The five patients, all people who traveled to Wuhan, China are in isolation at hospitals including one woman in Chicago. Since the outbreak was first reported in December, OSF HealthCare has been monitoring and instituting the recommended Center for Disease Control and Prevention protocols.
Grooms says OSF HealthCare is taking a cautious approach to infection prevention and control so patients suspected of having the novel coronavirus would be asked to wear a surgical mask as soon as they are identified and they would be evaluated in a private room with the door closed, ideally an airborne infection isolation room if available. Those are available in OSF HealthCare hospitals.
In addition to standard fluid-resistant gowns and gloves, providers treating a suspected patient would wear a National Institutes of Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified disposable N95 mask that provides a tighter fit and more protection from smaller, airborne particles as well as eye protection such as goggles or a face shield.
There are other protocols for taking test samples and reporting all suspected cases to the local health department. Eventually, state public health officials would decide if the sample should be tested for the novel strain at a state-certified lab.
Even though patients have died from the virus, the first 17 people were largely older men, many with underlying health problems. Grooms says treatment would only involve antibiotics if patients develop pneumonia caused by a bacterial infection.
“Usually it’s just managing their symptoms, giving them fever reduction medication, helping them with breathing treatment; worse-case scenario ventilators,” according to Grooms.
If you have been in Wuhan, China in the last two weeks or know someone who might have been exposed to the novel coronavirus AND you have symptoms, please call ahead to your health care provider or immediate care center such as OSF Urgo or OSF PromptCare so they can make arrangements for you to be assessed.
