---
title: "CDC Confirms First US Person-to-Person Coronavirus Transmission"
description: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus in the United States."
date: "2020-01-30"
modified: "2020-01-30"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/cdc-first-person-to-person-coronavirus-transmission-in-us"
categories:
  - "Developments"
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Medical"
  - "Pathogens"
  - "Viruses"
tags:
  - "2019-ncov"
  - "coronavirus"
  - "virus"
---

# CDC Confirms First US Person-to-Person Coronavirus Transmission

![The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus in the United States.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/cdc-confirms-first-us-person-to-person-transmission-coronavirus.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus in the United States, [*CNBC* reports](<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/cdc-confirms-first-human-to-human-transmission-of-coronavirus-in-us.html>) — the first reported direct infection in North America.

The newly-infected patient is the husband of a woman who took a flight back from Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak — inadvertently bringing the virus with her.

The transmission made the US at least the fourth country where person-to-person transmission of the deadly virus has been confirmed, after Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan, [*The Verge* reports](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/30/21115402/coronavirus-us-transmission-person-to-person-first-case-reported-illinois-chicago>). As of Wednesday, 165 patients are under investigation in the US, [according to the CDC](<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html>).

In total, more than seven thousand cases have been confirmed, the majority in mainland China, [according to *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/asia/coronavirus-china.html#link-505aa9ae>). The virus, also known as 2019-nCoV, has claimed the lives of [171 people](<https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6>).

"Moving forward, we can expect to see more cases, and more cases means more potential for person-to-person spread," Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told *CNBC*.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)