First case of Wuhan coronavirus confirmed in US after traveller from China diagnosed in Seattle

The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the US after a traveller from China was diagnosed in Seattle.

A spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the news on Tuesday.

The US citizen returned from a trip to the Wuhan area in central China in the middle of last week.

The man is in his 30s and is in good condition at a hospital in Everett, outside Seattle.

The CDC said it expects to see more cases of the Wuhan coronavirus in the US after developing a new test which helped it to identify the first case in Seattle.

It comes after 15 medical staff were revealed to have been infected with the mysterious virus on Tuesday as Chinese officials announced the death toll reaching six.

The chilling update on the spread of the virus came as the World Health Organisation called for an urgent meeting to consider declaring an international health emergency.

“Information about newly-reported infections suggest there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission,” said WHO regional director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai.

Face masks sold out and officials at airports and train stations checked passengers for fevers as China sought to control the outbreak.

Anxiety grew both at home and abroad after Chinese government expert Zhong Nanshan confirmed fears on state television late on Monday that the new type of coronavirus can spread from human to human.

It can cause pneumonia with symptoms including fever and difficulty in breathing.

The scare has raised fears of new Sars-style global pandemic.

Last week, the CDC began screening travelers from China in three US airports.

Officials around the world have implemented similar airport screenings in hopes of containing the virus during the busy Lunar New Year travel season.

Last month, doctors began seeing a new type of viral pneumonia - fever, cough, difficulty breathing - in people who spent time at a food market in Wuhan.

More than 275 cases of the newly identified coronavirus have been confirmed in China, most of them in Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization.

The count includes six deaths - all in China, most of them age 60 or older, including at least some who had a previous medical condition.

Isolated cases have been confirmed in Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities.

Two cases have also been identified in Thailand, one in Japan and one in South Korea.

The virus may also have reached Australia with health authorities in Queensland monitoring a man who recently returned displaying symptoms consistent with the condition.

Australia announced it would screen passengers on flights from Wuhan, while Singapore said it would quarantine individuals with pneumonia and a history of travel to Wuhan within 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms.

The mounting anxiety has transmitted to financial markets, with the yuan down nearly half a per cent.

Wall Street's main indexes paused near all-time highs on Tuesday, as concerns about the fallout from a deadly virus outbreak in China and a downbeat growth outlook from the IMF prompted investors to lock in recent gains.

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