IN ADDITION TO CHINA AND THE

U.S. THERE ARE ALSO CONFIRMED

CASES OF THE CORONAVIRUS IN

JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, THAILAND.

TRAVELERS HEADING TO THE UNITED

STATES ON DIRECT OR CONNECTING

FLIGHTS FROM WUHAN CHINA WHERE

THIS VIRUS BEGAN WILL BE

SCREENED AT JFK AND NEW YORK AS

WELL AS LAX AND SAN FRANCISCO

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OUT WEST.

FOR MORE ON ALL OF THIS, WE ARE

NOW JOINED BY A PROFESSOR OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT

UCLA, ALSO DIRECTOR OF THEIR

CENTER FOR GLOBAL AND IMMIGRANT

HEALTH.

DOCTOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR

JOINING US.

HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE BY

THIS CORONAVIRUS NOW THAT WE

HAVE HAD A CONFIRMED CASE IN THE

UNITED STATES?

>> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD

QUESTION, ASHLEY.

I THINK THERE IS GREAT CAUSE FOR

CONCERN ABOUT THIS VIRUS.

WE HAVE NOW A CASE IN THE UNITED

STATES.

WE KNOW THAT IT'S PASSED FROM

HUMAN TO HUMAN AND THAT CASES

CAN LAND ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

ASHLEY: WELL THAT'S A BIG

QUESTION OF COURSE IS HOW DO YOU

STOP THIS?

AT WHAT POINT DOES THE WORLD

HEALTH ORGANIZATION START TO PUT

IN TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS?

IS THERE A NUMBER THAT THEY LOOK

AT?

I MEAN, ONCE IT IS OUT, IT IS

VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN.

>> CORRECT, OUTBREAKS ARE LIKE

WILDFIRES.

YOU NEED TO STOP THEM WHEN THEY

ARE AT THE SPARK, NOT WHEN THEY

BECOME AN INFERNO.

RIGHT NOW THE WORLD HEALTH

ORGANIZATION IS SCHEDULING TO

MEET TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT

THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH

EMERGENCY, AND THERE ARE MANY

MANY FACTORS THAT GO INTO THIS

DECISION.

WE'LL FIND OUT MORE IN THE

COMING DAYS.

YOU KNOW, THINGS COULD CHANGE

VERY VERY RAPIDLY.

THIS MORNING WE NOW KNOW THAT

THERE'S A CASE HERE IN THE

UNITED STATES.

SO THERE'S A GREAT DEAL WE STILL

ARE LEARNING, AND THERE ARE MANY

MANY FACTORS THAT WILL GO INTO

THIS DECISION.

ASHLEY: WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS,

DOCTOR?

YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE FATALITY

RATE TO PUT IT THAT WAY BECAUSE

I UNDERSTAND FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN

FROM CHINA IT CAN BE FATAL.

MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN SOME OF

THAT.

>> WELL, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE

ANSWERS AT THIS POINT.

WE HAVE MANY MORE QUESTIONS THAN

ANSWERS.

RIGHT NOW WE KNOW SIX PEOPLE

HAVE DIED.

THEY ARE AT LEAST 300 PEOPLE

THAT WE KNOW OF THAT ARE

INFECTED BECAUSE WE ARE JUST

BEGINNING TO GET DATA IN HERE,

WE STILL DON'T KNOW THE SCOPE OF

THIS DISEASE.

IT COULD BE MUCH GREATER THAN WE

KNOW.

WE'RE DEPENDING UPON REALLY GOOD

DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.

ASHLEY: IS THERE A TREATMENT FOR

THIS?

IS THERE A CURE SO TO SPEAK?

>> SO THIS DISEASE IS A

CORONAVIRUS.

AND WE SAW THIS WITH SARS, 17 --

17 YEARS AGO AND RIGHT NOW THERE

ARE NO VACCINES AVAILABLE FOR

THIS FAMILY OF CORONAVIRUSES.

MANY ARE BEING TESTED BUT NONE

ARE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE TO BE

USED IN A PUBLIC HEALTH

CAMPAIGN.

ASHLEY: I'M SORRY SO INTERRUPT,

IT SPREADS IF I READ IT

CORRECTLY FROM PERSON-TO-PERSON?

>> CORRECT.

WE NOW KNOW BASED ON THE

INFORMATION THAT WAS SHARED

EARLIER TODAY, THAT THIS VIRUS

CAN SPREAD FROM

PERSON-TO-PERSON.

IN FACT, ONE PERSON INFECTED 14

HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN CHINA.

ASHLEY: YOU KNOW, HOW RELIABLE

ARE THE REPORTED NUMBERS OUT OF

CHINA?

I SAY THAT BECAUSE SOMETIMES

WHEN THIS HAPPENS IN ONE

PARTICULAR COUNTRY, IT'S VERY

HARD TO GET TO THE TRUE SCOPE OF

WHAT THEY ARE FACING.

>> WELL, I THINK THAT CHINA

PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW AT THIS

POINT.

WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND

THAT RIGHT NOW THEY ARE PUTTING

IN PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES.

THEY ARE ALERTING HOSPITALS.

WHAT WE DO KNOW THIS IS VERY

DIFFERENT THAN 17 YEARS AGO

DURING THE SARS OUTBREAK WHEN

CHINA DID COVER UP THE FACT THAT

THERE WAS AN OUTBREAK ONGOING

AND ALLOWED THE VIRUS TO SPREAD

OUT OF CONTROL BEFORE PUBLIC

HEALTH OFFICIALS WERE INVITED IN

AND CONTROL MEASURES WERE PUT IN

PLACE.

WE KNOW THAT CHINA IS DOING A

REALLY GOOD JOB RIGHT NOW OF

SENDING MESSAGES TO HEALTHCARE

PROFESSIONALS, TO HOSPITALS.

THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY CASES

THERE ARE, AND THERE ARE REALLY

GOOD TOOLS OUT THERE TO

DETERMINE HOW IT IS SPREADING.

ASHLEY: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU

GIVE VERY QUICKLY DOCTOR TO

SOMEONE WHO MAYBE HAS A TRIP

PLANNED TO THAT PART OF THE

WORLD?

DOES WEARING A MASK DO ANYTHING

TO PREVENT THE SPREAD?

>> THAT'S AN ACTUAL QUESTION

WHETHER OR NOT A MASK CAN HELP

PREVENT THE SPREAD.

RIGHT NOW WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY

HOW THIS DISEASE IS SPREAD.

IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT IT

COULD BE RESPIRATORY, IN WHICH

CASE A MASK COULD HELP, BUT YOU

HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO PUT THAT

MASK ON AND TO KEEP IT ON AND

NOT TO TOUCH YOUR FACE, NOT TO

TOUCH YOUR EYES.

SO, YOU KNOW, A MASK COULD

POTENTIALLY HELP, AS WE LEARN

MORE ABOUT THIS, BUT I THINK

EVERYBODY HAS TO WEIGH THE RISKS

RIGHT NOW OF, YOU KNOW, IF THEY

WANT TO TRAVEL OR IF THEY DON'T.

AND UNLESS THEY ARE GOING TO A

PLACE WHERE WE KNOW THERE HAVE

BEEN CASES AT THIS POINT, I

THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ADVICE

IS STILL GO AHEAD, TRAVEL WHERE

YOU NEED TO TRAVEL, BUT WATCH

THE NEWS, LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC

HEALTH MESSAGING AND TAKE PUBLIC

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS.

TAKING GOOD INFECTION CONTROL

PRECAUTIONS, WASHING YOUR HANDS,

NOT TOUCHING YOUR FACE ALL THE

TIME, BEING MINDFUL OF PEOPLE

AROUND YOU IS VERY IMPORTANT IN

THIS CASE.

ASHLEY: GREAT ADVICE, DOCTOR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DOCTOR, FOR