#14,990
Yesterday, in CDC Revised Testing Criteria For COVID-19 PUIs, we looked at new guidance released by the CDC late Thursday. This morning we have a CDC HAN Update, released late yesterday - which is intended primarily for clinicians and public health officials - that replaces the previous guidance published on February 1st.
Guidance is constantly changing as the threat evolves and we learn more about the virus, so we'll undoubtedly see more updates in the weeks and months ahead.Due to its length, I only posted some excerpts. Follow the link to download and read the full update.
Update and Interim Guidance on Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network
February 28, 2020, 15:05 ET (3:05 PM ET)
CDCHAN-00428
Summary
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to closely monitor and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
This CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Update provides updated guidance on evaluating and testing persons under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19. It supersedes guidance provided in CDC’s HAN 427 distributed on February 1, 2020.
The outbreak that began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, has now spread throughout China and to 46 other countries and territories, including the United States. As of February 27, 2020, there were 78,497 reported cases in China and 3,797 cases in locations outside China. In addition to sustained transmission in China, there is evidence of community spread in several additional countries. CDC has updated travel guidance to reflect this information (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html).
To date, there has been limited spread of COVID-19 in the United States. As of February 26, 2020, there were a total of 61 cases within the United States, 46 of these were among repatriated persons from high-risk settings. The other 15 cases were diagnosed in the United States; 12 were persons with a history of recent travel in China and 2 were persons in close household contact with a COVID-19 patient (i.e. person-to-person spread). One patient with COVID-19 who had no travel history or links to other known cases was reported on February 26, 2020, in California. The California Department of Public Health, local health departments, clinicians, and CDC are working together to investigate this case and are identifying contacts with whom this individual interacted.
CDC, state and local health departments, other federal agencies, and other partners have been implementing measures to slow and contain transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. These measures include assessing, monitoring, and caring for travelers arriving from areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission and identifying cases and contacts of cases in the United States.
Recognizing persons at risk for COVID-19 is a critical component of identifying cases and preventing further transmission. With expanding spread of COVID-19, additional areas of geographic risk are being identified and PUI criteria are being updated to reflect this spread. To prepare for possible additional person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in the United States, CDC continues to recommend that clinicians and state and local health departments consider COVID-19 in patients with severe respiratory illness even in the absence of travel history to affected areas or known exposure to another case.
Criteria to Guide Evaluation and Testing of Patients Under Investigation (PUI) for COVID-19
Local or state health departments, in consultation with clinicians, should determine whether a patient is a PUI for COVID-19. The CDC clinical criteria for COVID-19 PUIs have been developed based on available information about this novel virus, as well as what is known about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (https://www.cdc.gov/sars/clinical/guidance.html) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/interim-guidance.html#evaluation). These criteria are subject to change as additional information becomes available.
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