​The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring closely an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus named COVID-19. It first was detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and continues to spread.

Infections are reported in a growing number of international locations, including the United States. Most of these reported infections are associated with travel from Wuhan. In the U.S., no person-to-person spread has been detected and the virus currently is not spreading here.

Coronaviruses are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats which can, although rarely, infect people and the virus then may spread between people such as with MERS and SARS.

Early on, many of those infected with COVID-19 had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. Later, a growing number of patients reportedly had no exposure to animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread.

At this time, it’s unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people. The latest situation summary updates are available on Kentucky Department for Public Health kycovid19.ky.gov​ site​ to keep up with the latest news and information about the COVID-19 outbreak

Source: CDC