Congresswoman DeGette To Bring In Experts Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

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(CBS4) - Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette is taking action to stop the spread of coronavirus. The virus sparked in Wuhan, China and has infected 450 people and killed 17 others.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D) Colorado (credit: CBS)

DeGette chairs the House Oversight and Investigations Committee which as jurisdiction over public health and quarantine.

"We're very concerned about the potential of this becoming widespread in the United States. I'm going to hold a congressional briefing in the next few weeks where we bring in the Centers for Disease Control from Atlanta and the National Institutes of Health to talk to us about the threat of this coronavirus and what we're doing from the public health perspective to stop it," she said.

At this point, no one knows what to expect in the weeks to come. But the fears of spread are based on several factors:

No one has immunity to the new virus.
It can be easily spread from person to person via cough, sneeze, or touch.
Since it is a virus, antibiotics are of no use.
There is no vaccine.
The incubation is unknown, but it appears it could be close to a week before a person is exposed and then becomes ill.
The symptoms are very similar to the flu, with fever, chills, aches, runny nose, and cough.