The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to  monitor an illness outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus.  The outbreak was initially detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, but has since been detected in over 100 countries including the United States.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe infections such as pneumonia, Middle East respiratory syndrome (known as MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Common signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, kidney failure or death.

Early on, many of the patients in the outbreak in Wuhan, China, reportedly had some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients reportedly have not had exposure to animal markets, suggesting person-to-person community spread is now occurring throughout the world. 

There are ongoing investigations to learn more about this novel virus. This is a rapidly evolving situation and information will be updated as it becomes available. Please check out the links listed below for more information –Center for Disease and Prevention, Connecticut Department of Health,  and the World Health Organization.

The CDC has a great deal of information on their website.  In order to simplify access to this information, please see the catergorized resources below: