The United States tries to shield itself against the increasingly rapid spread of a deadly Chinese virus

The mysterious coronavirus that affects several regions of China and that has similar characteristics to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that hit the region between 2002 and 2003 is contagious among humans.

The statement was made by Zhong Nanshan, renowned expert in infectious diseases and one of the architects of the campaign that faced the SARS epidemic , when almost 650 people lost their lives between mainland China and Hong Kong.

"At this time it can be said that the phenomenon of transmission from human to human is confirmed," said the respiratory disease specialist in an interview with CCTV. This condition increases the options for the coronavirus to spread.

On Monday, the Chinese health authorities also reported that there are already three dead in the city of Wuhan, in the center of the country, and that another 217 cases had been declared , several of them even in Beijing, the capital of the Asian giant.

It is believed that a busy fresh food market in Wuhan is the focus from where the epidemic began to spread in late December 2019 . Wuhan has 11 million inhabitants and is a must for millions of Chinese who will move on the occasion of the holiday for the Lunar New Year, which begins on January 25.

"The recent outbreak of a new coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and elsewhere must be taken seriously ," Chinese President Xi Jinping warned in his first public statement about the crisis. "Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health ahead of everything else."

The Japanese and Thai authorities have already reported at least three cases of this coronavirus, according to an NBC note in the San Francisco Bay area, while South Korea reported the existence of a sick Chinese woman who had just just Get to an international airport in Seoul, the capital.

Preventive measures in the US

That is why health officials in different cities and all port, railway and airport stations have triggered alarms and are taking measures to control a greater spread of this epidemic that could be fatal.

In fact, half a dozen countries in the Asian continent and up to three airports in the United States have already deployed procedures to inspect passengers primarily from central China.

In Macao, on the south coast of China, specialists dressed in protective suits check the temperature of each of the passengers arriving on these types of flights.

Starting this weekend, at JFK airport in New York, as well as at San Francisco International and Los Angeles International, passengers coming from Wuhan will be inspected , according to The New York Times.

"It's a serious situation ," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned at a press conference. "We know it is crucial to be proactive and be prepared."

However, the specialist acknowledged that, although there are probably cases in the United States at some point, "we believe that the current risk of the virus to the general public is low."

In any case, some 100 experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are being deployed in these three airports, where it is estimated that about 5,000 travelers will be monitored in the following weeks for signs of the infection, according to Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the global migration and quarantine division of the CDC

Between 60,000 and 65,000 people travel to the United States a year from the city of Wuhan.

The symptoms

Many experts insist that it may not be easy to detect cases of infection in airports, since our hemisphere is in the middle of winter, just when the flu season reaches its highest statistics.

Either way, it is important to know that fever, cough and nasal secretion are among the elementary characteristics of this coronavirus infection , symptoms compatible with viral pneumonia, according to the British newspaper The Independent. Chest pressure and difficulty breathing may also manifest.

(Edited by Ivette Leyva)