Coronavirus Risk Remains Low In Arizona

By Tom Maxedon
Published: Monday, February 3, 2020 - 9:00am
Updated: Monday, February 3, 2020 - 9:16am

2019 Novel Coronavirus Model
CDC
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

As airlines are suspending flights to mainland China due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, health officials have confirmed more than 14,000 cases worldwide.

Doctors in Arizona though are urging residents to keep the outbreak in perspective.

University of Arizona professor Dr. Jun Wang says the virus is difficult to distinguish from regular flu symptoms, for example.

"You have high fever, coughing, sneezing, chest pain, headache … only genetic testing can give you a definitive answer," he said.

Wang, who is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology, says coronavirus is not new and shares similarities with SARS, for instance.

There have been just eight cases of the outbreak reported in the U.S., with only one confirmed case in Arizona.

Science