And they're, you know, again, dozens of these.

There's a few of them that are known to infect humans that largely caused relatively mild upper respiratory disease or common cold.

And then, more recently, we've had outbreaks of Corona viruses that can cause severe lower respiratory tract disease or pneumonia.

So the first of these that we became acquainted with you might remember your viewers might remember SARS.

They also came out of China back in 2003.

More recently, we've had MERS, which is known as the Mid East Respiratory Syndrome virus, which is coming out of the Arabian Peninsula.

So now this is the third kind of novel Corona virus that we're having experience with that can cause severe lower respiratory tract disease.

These typically spread from person to person via large droplets, respiratory droplets.

So when somebody coughs or sneezes, it can be transmissible that way.

There were reports that started at a food market.

It is not a food borne illness, so this is something that spread just correct.

So many of these corona viruses have a natural reservoir in animals.

And so we know that in certain instances they've been able to infect camels or cats or rats and the original descriptions of this new Corona virus coming out of China to a food market where they had live animals that they would sell.

So the hypothesis is that there may be an animal reservoir that has now transferred into humans.

So there has been a least one case, uh, here in the U.

S.

Someone that had traveled about area.

So Mabel turned to a doctor Lawler, who's our expert on the global health security, and he might be appropriate to answer that question.

So I think right now the risk in the United States and in most countries outside of China is very low.

The outbreak really seems to be concentrated in the city of Wuhan, which is in a kind of central eastern china.

Um, and in the US, we should probably be much more worried about influenza and respiratory diseases that we know cause significant morbidity and mortality every year.

So on an average year, 30,000 Americans die of influenza.

So we've had one detective case of this new Corona virus in the U.

S.

So I think it's a it's appropriate for folks.

Tow the temper, their their alarm.

But it is, I think, reason to be aware that we are vulnerable to emerging infections anywhere in the world.

With modern transportation.

You can be anywhere in the globe in 24 hours.

So, you know, I think the good thing is that highlights that we've become much better at detecting.

You know, these types of events are surveillance is much better than it was even in 2003 with stars.

And I think the fact that just a couple of weeks into the outbreak we have a much better idea of what the pathogen is.

Um, we have systems already in place, that air doing surveillance and detection and tracking.

And so I think we're well ahead of where we have been with previous outbreaks.

But But again, this is, unfortunately something that's going to continue to happen.

New and emerging diseases are are not going to stop any time soon, A little bit about with Nebraska medicine.

Have any role goodbye responding to this, particularly if it continues to grow.

Angela, why don't you take That is our director of the bio containment unit.

So yes, we definitely in the Nebraska by containing and follow this and any other outbreak going on in world very closely.

And I do feel like that in our role as a bio containment unit and also, you know, as one of the leaders in the United States and bio containment that we should not only be monitored this closely, but also serving his example for others a SZ faras doing appropriate travel screening here in Nebraska medicine, making sure that when people come to our emergency department or clinics that we're asking that question Have you traveled somewhere outside the United States?

Not necessarily just for this virus that we're discussing, but for other other pathogens as well.

There are other Albert's going on in the world as well, but yes, in the bio containment unit, I do feel like that we should serve in that leadership role and to provide that guidance for others in their ear infection control management of these type of pathogens.

You talked a little bit about the change in response to these these kinds of illnesses as compared to stars 15 years ago, I suppose.

Can you expand?

We'll talk about what the global response looks like in terms of containing this type of outbreak treating it with us.

Sure, I think overall, this response has been much quicker on much more open and transparent than what happened in 2003 was stars.

So SARS was going on and there were cases that were popping up in hospitals and transmission was occurring for months.

But before anybody really became aware of it, outside of, you know, the local endemic region.

And then it took quite a while, Thio to identify what the virus was into implement appropriate travel, screening and precautions.

By that time, you know, the virus that escaped and was in Hong Kong was in Singapore was in Vietnam, ended up in Canada and see really had a worldwide outbreak at that point.

Hopefully, so far we've seemed to have done a much better job of identifying cases and implementing the appropriate public health measures to prevent spread, you mentioned.

The Chinese government has actually been very transparent and open about sharing the status of the outbreak and identified and notified partners and the World Health Organization very quickly the W.

H O, is apparently meeting to discuss whether this should be declared a public health emergency of international consequence.

You know, I think at this point most experts predict that that will not happen, that the W.

H O will be satisfied with the status of response right now and the fact that this appears to be, you know, so far relatively confined except for, you know, a few cases that have kind of gotten out on airplanes.

And so I think overall, it does demonstrate that the world has made significant progress in combating thes types of emerging disease threats.

And if I could elaborate just a little bit on that clearly here in the United States.

So we're being very proactive.

So travelers from Wuhan, China, are actually being funneled into five airports in the U.

S.

Now where they are being screened for any kind of respiratory or febrile illness.

If they were discovered, they would be observed carefully in quarantine, similarly, there being given information that if they arrive here and then become ill that they said, seeking medical attention and obviously alert medical personnel that they've been potentially exposed in Wuhan.

So we're very much ahead of the ball game as opposed to where we were years ago and are being very proactive with this.

Here in Nebraska, medicine is Dr Hewlett mentioned.

We clearly have already put in travel screening for people coming into our clinics and emergency department.

We have the biocontainment unit on alert If we if we needed them.

Here is people locally have had Children or friends or known people who have been diagnosed with Corona virus, and it's confusing to them.

They hear the word, and they think it's the same thing.

Can you explain the difference?

Is there yes, so, um, clearly the krone viruses are a large family of viruses that cause everything from the common cold, which is what you're referring to.

Two more severe lower respiratory tract disease, which is what these newer novel Corona viruses are sometimes associated with.

We're particularly concerned with these novel corona viruses and other Corona viruses, sometimes in very immuno suppressed hosts, and so sometimes they can cause more severe disease.

Even the more common corona viruses in our bone marrow transplant patients or somebody who is immuno suppressed, or the very young or the very old So you know, we do have ah ah, wealth of experience with Corona viruses in general and are learning more about this new one.

A SZ days go by is that the guy is ready.

Someone with a very severe case of this particular strain of the virus potentially come to the bio containment unit for treatment or corn.

There's a chance that that could happen.

We, you know, a CZ doctor brought mentioned.

We are travel screening.

If we did have a person who presented to our emergency department or to our clinics that have inappropriate travel history and also appropriate symptoms, then we would consider bringing them into the bio containment unit mainly for diagnosis and inappropriate monitoring and supportive care.

You know, we do serve as a zey a leader both in our region.

In the United States, there's a chance that if there were a patient that were infected with this illness in our region as well, with that we could care for them in the unit also, and we do stand ready for this and any other pathogens.

Last question I think I have is I knew that you wouldn't be alarmist because the flu is a larger for people here in the U.

S.

But, um, if people have travel plans to go to some of these locations where the disease is the detective, I mean one of the symptoms or what should people be aware?

Is there any sort of message of what should be?

So the CDC has issued a fairly low level alert for people traveling to that specific part of China that they should be careful.

Avoid sick people, you know, just some comments and sort of precautions again.

The Corona viruses generally caused kind of a febrile flu like illness, and so it could be easily confused with much more common viruses that were saying and his doctor, Lawler mentioned.

They think that it's important for viewers to keep this in perspective that, you know, we currently have ah, widely circulating a virus influenza that causes anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 deaths per year in our country.

Every year on DSO, we need to be, you know, making sure that we're taking appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of those viruses while being on lookout for this novel Corona virus.

At the same time, a question from a reporter online asking how, if we are currently working with the CDC and W H O and monitoring are preparing for a Corona virus?

Does the Global Center for Health Security play a role?

Sure, so the Global Center for Health Security is involved in longstanding programs.

Thio help train first responders and other health care workers in appropriate infection prevention and control.

We work very closely with our bio containment unit colleagues and also with folks here at the university and, uh at the hospital who are part of the Ebola Treatment and Education Center, which is the main resource for training hospitals across the nation.

Inappropriate infection prevention and control.

And so, um, you know, all of those efforts together, really over over years have done a significant amount to increase preparedness in hospitals to manage these types of highly dangerous pathogens.

That's another advantage that we have over 2003 is that after Ebola on with the advent of any tech and other efforts, we've we've done a much better job of preparing hospitals to manage patients with potentially highly infectious diseases, and that's ah, that's a real resource that I think could be relied on and will significantly improve our ability to manage an outbreak beyond one or two patients.

If that's, uh, that's what occurs.

That was that something like this different than in a bowl of type situation where you're you have such high levels of travel last compared to not seeing that as much in Western Africa people.

Well, China is, Ah, very common travel destination both for, you know, for business travelers as well as for for people going on vacation.

And so we don't see quite as much travel to those areas affected by Ebola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, namely, currently, as we do to China, which is a very common travel destination.

So that is when you know one difference about Ebola versus this outbreak is that you know, there are a lot more travelers returning to the U.

S.

And two other places from China than from the affected area in the Congo.

The thing I would point out is that the legality of these diseases differ very markedly, with Ebola being associated with a much higher rate of fatality than the Corona virus infection.

Currently, we have a handful of deaths due to Corona virus in China, it appears to be less transmissible in less severe, perhaps then SARS or even murders.

So we have that to our advantage as well, because their way to compare how transmissible this might be compared to the flu that we're experiencing and how lethal it might be that sudden deaths in the area.

Correct.

And that's why I think that it's so important for people to keep those things in perspective that we're dealing with very minimal risk right now from this Corona virus where we're dealing with a much higher level of risk from very common viruses that we are used to encountering.

Each and every year.

We want everything else.

Okay, Great.

Thank you, folks.

Thank you.

Thanks.