Japan confirms 1st case of mysterious pneumonia linked to China

Japan confirmed the first case of infection from the new China coronavirus that has killed one person and prompted a travel alert from the U.S. State Department.

A man in his 30s from Kanagawa prefecture, next to Tokyo, tested positive, Japan's health ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The man had been to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where there has been an outbreak of pneumonia believed to be caused by the new coronavirus strain, it said.

The U.S. State Department issued a health alert update on Wednesday about travel to the Wuhan region. It referenced an alert by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging citizens travelling in the region to avoid contact with animals, animal markets or animal products, among other precautions.

Thai health authorities said on Wednesday they were stepping up monitoring of passengers arriving at airports ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when 800,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit the country.

The World Health Organizationhas said the new virus could spread and has warned hospitals worldwide.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while some like the one that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are far more severe.

Memories remain fresh in Asia of a 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, which emerged in China and killed nearly 800 people worldwide.

The World Health Organization has said there may have been limited human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus in China within families.

The Japanese patient returned from Wuhan this month with a fever and was hospitalized. He was released yesterday after the symptoms subsided, according to the health ministry statement.