美國新冠肺炎病人可以追溯到早於2019年7月

2019年7月，在美國弗吉尼亞州一個退休人員社區，暴發了一種不明原因的呼吸係統致命性疾病，造成54人染病，2人死亡。患者描述的症狀包括“發燒、咳嗽、渾身疼痛、氣喘、聲音沙啞和全身無力”，與新冠肺炎症狀極其相似。

請注意其中這一段

”those conducted on 17 samples by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have failed to identify a likely cause. Tests for Legionnaires’ disease have also come up negative“

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Respiratory illness outbreak at retirement home kills 2 and sickens dozens more
By Darran Simon and Rebekah Riess, CNN

Updated 10:32 PM ET, Thu July 11, 2019

CNN)A respiratory illness outbreak at a Virginia assisted living facility has left two people dead and sent 18 others to the hospital, health officials said Thursday.

The Fairfax County Health Department is investigating after 54 of the 263 residents at Greenspring Retirement Community, located in Springfield, became ill with respiratory symptoms, ranging from a cough to pneumonia, over the past 11 days , the health department said.
Investigators are working to identify the cause of the outbreak.
Greenspring has cooperated with health officials, who are conducting tests, according to the department. The facility has been closed to new patients, while group activities have been canceled and ill residents are quarantined in their rooms, the health department said.
The first case occurred on June 30, Fairfax County Health Department spokesman John Silcox said. The department was notified of the outbreak earlier this week, Silcox said. He could not immediately say when the two patients died.

 

Third person has died after respiratory illness outbreak at Greenspring Village, Fairfax officials say

CDC has tested 17 samples but has so far failed to identify the cause.

By 

Fredrick Kunkle 

July 17, 2019 at 5:43 p.m. EDT

A third person has died following an outbreak of respiratory illness at a Fairfax County assisted-living facility that began more than two weeks ago, county health officials said Wednesday.

The outbreak at Greenspring Village in Springfield also spread to the unit’s staff, affecting 19 employees, Fairfax County Health Department officials said.

At a news conference Wednesday at the agency’s headquarters, Benjamin Schwartz, director of epidemiology and population health at the Fairfax County Health Department, said tests, including those conducted on 17 samples by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have failed to identify a likely cause. Tests for Legionnaires’ disease have also come up negative. Officials tested for a range of common virus- or bacteria-borne respiratory illnesses.