Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

March 12, 2020

First known person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the USA

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  • This article describes the epidemiologic investigation and contact tracing that was conducted on this first person-to-person transmission in the U.S. that occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while the index patient (travel-associated case) was symptomatic.
  • The authors note that despite actively monitoring almost 350 contacts and the 75 contacts who further developed COVID-19 symptoms during the 14-day incubation period, all of them tested negative for COVID-19.
  • Further detailed reports of contact investigations could improve understanding of the transmissibility of this novel virus. 

Ghinai et al. (Mar 12, 2020). First known person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the USA. The Lancet.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30607-3