TMC PULSE

t m c n e w s . o r g 2 TMC | PULSE Vol. 7 No. 1 February 2020 President and Chief Executive Officer William F. McKeon Pulse Editor Maggie Galehouse, Ph.D. mgalehouse@tmc.edu Assistant Editor Cindy George cgeorge@tmc.edu Staff Writers Alexandra Becker Britni R. McAshan Shanley Pierce Photojournalist Cody Duty NEWSROOM 713-791-8812 news@tmc.edu ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION Joseph Gray 713-791-8829 newsads@tmc.edu distribution@tmc.edu READ US ONLINE tmc.edu/news FOLLOW US @TXMedCenter @texasmedcenter @thetexasmedicalcenter TMC Pulse is an award-winning monthly publication of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Permission from the editor is required to reprint any material. President's Perspective WILLIAM F. McKEON President and Chief Executive Officer, Texas Medical Center Mark Mulligan/© Houston Chronicle. Used with permission. I n late January, a number of infectious disease experts assembled in the boardroom of the Texas Medical Center to discuss the outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. There is currently no cure or vaccine for this new strain of virus. As global transportation networks through air, land and sea have expanded, the amount of time it takes a deadly virus to spread around the world has reduced significantly. Multiple sources have reported more than 4,000 cases of this new strain of coronavirus around the world, with nearly half of the cases in Hubei. However, Chinese health authori- ties were extremely slow to communicate the extent and severity of the situation in China. China has locked down more than 15 cities— a combined population of more than 50 mil- lion people. That is comparable to restricting the movements of all residents in the states of Texas and California. Coronaviruses are common in many species of animals, including, cats, cattle, bats and camels. Sometimes, a coronavirus becomes "zoonotic," meaning it is transmit- ted from animals to humans. In those rare cases when it spreads from person to person, human transmission usually occurs via respiratory droplets released after cough- ing or sneezing. Both SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) are strains of the coronavirus that have led to the deaths of hundreds of people around the world. As alarming as the current outbreak is, it is important to remember that influenza—the common flu—causes far more deaths annu- ally than any of the coronaviruses. Moreover, taking preemptive steps to get a flu vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of a severe illness or death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established 20 quaran- tine stations around the country—including a station at George Bush Intercontinental Airport—where health care workers will test arriving travelers for the new strain of coro- navirus. These screening centers will also educate travelers. People who have traveled from an outbreak zone and begin to experi- ence symptoms including fever, cough or difficulty breathing should contact a doctor immediately. The Texas Medical Center and our member institutions are working closely with Mayor Sylvester Turner, the city, county, state and national teams to streamline communi- cations and coordinate our efforts to support our residents.

• Cover