TOLEDO, Ohio — More than 500 cases of the coronavirus have been reported around the world, with one of those being confirmed in the U.S.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Thursday, they are investigating two other possible cases in Los Angeles and Texas.
Five US airports also increased their health screening for international flights since the report.
The first thing doctors at Mercy Health want people to know is that coronavirus has been around for years, this type we're hearing about now is just a different strain.
"coronavirus occurs naturally. Primarily affecting animals and there are some subtypes of the coronavirus that will affect humans," said Mercy Health Medical Director, Dr. Chris Goliver.
According to Goliver, there is still information that we don't know about the virus, such as if it came from an animal source or if it was person-to-person.
Goliver said we do know that this is not the first time we've seen this virus.
"There have been a couple of outbreaks. SARS; the severe respiratory syndrome that came from China. That one was in 2002. Then there was the middle east respiratory syndrome, that one I believe was in 2012," he said.
The symptoms of the virus mimic those of the flu and the incubation period could be anywhere from two days to two weeks.
For the Mercy Health hospitals, they are always taking precautions even though the outbreak is not in our area.
"Our surveillance would be very similar to when we've had previous outbreaks. For the general public, we recommend if you're sick, try to stay home. For those that are not ill, try to stay away from anyone who is ill," said Goliver.
A professor at the University of Toledo said locals should not be overly concerned yet because there's only one reported case in the U.S. and it's not in our area.
Dr. Jennifer Hanrahan, the University of Toledo's chief of infectious diseases, said the virus has been talked about a lot lately and it will continue.
Because this strain of virus is new to the U.S., there isn't lot of information on it, and the information they do have is always changing.
She said the coronavirus is not the flu, but looks like the flu and exhibits symptoms like the flu.
"What I can tell you is that coronaviruses are a group of viruses that are responsible for the common cold. It's the most common cause of the common cold. We see these regularly but these strains that have come up recently are completely different. So this is something that people have not been previously exposed to," said Hanrahan.
Both Hanrahan and Golvier said the best line of defense is washing your hands and wearing a mask.
They also expect the number to go up because it spreads easily. Information on the virus and the most up-to-date information is available on the homepage of the CDC website.