US warns citizens in China to avoid animals and sick people over mystery pneumonia virus
- Outbreak in central city of Wuhan has seen 59 cases so far of the unidentified illness but Sars and bird flu have been ruled out
- US embassy in Beijing warns Americans to ‘be aware and practise usual precautions’
Americans travelling in China should avoid animals and contact with sick people as the country grapples with a mystery pneumonia outbreak, the US embassy in China said Tuesday.
The viral illness was first reported last week in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million, and has since grown to at least 59 cases.
Chinese health officials have ruled out a resurgence of the highly contagious severe acute respiratory syndrome virus, which killed hundreds more than a decade ago, after fears spread online that it had made a comeback.
“Be aware and practise usual precautions,” said the health alert issued by the US embassy, which urged citizens to seek medical care “right away” if they felt sick after travelling to Wuhan.
The outbreak of pneumonia comes just a few weeks before China’s busiest travel season of the year, when hundreds of millions of people take buses, trains and planes for Lunar New Year.