GENEVA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that officials in Thailand have confirmed a case of the novel coronavirus in a visitor from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The infected person was identified by Thai officials Wednesday and then hospitalized the same day, the WHO said in a release, adding that the person is recovering from the illness.
"The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected," the WHO said, calling for "ongoing active monitoring and preparedness in other countries." It has also issued guidance on how to detect and treat persons affected by the virus.
The WHO reiterates that the continuation of ongoing investigations in China to identify the source of the outbreak is essential.
Earlier on Sunday, the WHO confirmed that China had shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, which it said was of great importance for developing diagnostic kits.
It also confirmed that respiratory pathogens such as influenza, avian influenza, adenovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) were ruled out as the cause of the recent outbreak in Wuhan.
The cluster of the novel coronavirus was initially reported on Dec. 31. Since then, most cases were found to involve workers at or frequent visitors to Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been temporarily closed while environmental disinfection is carried out.
Local authorities have so far confirmed 41 cases of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, of which seven are classed as severe. One of the patients has died, though they were said to have had underlying health conditions.
The main clinical symptom of the novel coronavirus is fever, while a few cases include breathing difficulties, with chest radiographs showing invasive pneumonic infiltrates in both lungs.
