Feb 26, 2020

KDHE: Error created confusion about coronavirus in Kansas

Posted Feb 26, 2020 2:01 PM
Updated map <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">from John Hopkins University</a>
Updated map from John Hopkins University

Topeka, Kan. —The state of Kansas currently has no Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and no Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) for the virus.

The Kansas Department of Health was notified that a map of Coronavirus cases by John Hopkins University identified 36 cases in Kansas.

According to the KDHE, these cases actually represent the cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and were inaccurately placed on the map.

The KDHE reached out to John Hopkins to correct the map and they did.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Chinese authorities identified the new coronavirus, which has resulted in hundreds of confirmed cases in China, including cases outside Wuhan, with additional cases being identified in a growing number of countries internationally. The first case in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. This is an ongoing investigation and information is changing rapidly. visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

People in the United States commonly get infected with human coronaviruses and there are four types that are the most common. These types of coronaviruses can be detected on respiratory virus panels that are commonly performed at many hospitals and clinical laboratories. Sometimes coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve and make people sick and become a new human coronavirus. An example of this is the newly identified COVID-19 first detected in Wujan, China.

COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) Fact Sheet