The 1st person-to-person coronavirus transmission in the U.S. has been confirmed

The first case of the Wuhan coronavirus being transmitted from person to person in the United States has just been confirmed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Illinois health officials announced this case Thursday, saying the Chicago patient is the spouse of a woman who previously was diagnosed with the virus, CNBC reports.

Authorities announced last week a Chicago woman had been diagnosed with the coronavirus after returning home from Wuhan, China, where it broke out last month. On Thursday, officials confirmed that this woman's husband has also been diagnosed, but unlike his wife, he didn't travel to China, The New York Times reports. The Times adds that officials are "tracking the places visited by both patients and identifying all close contacts to closely monitor them."

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This is the sixth case of the Wuhan coronavirus to be reported in the United States, although it's the first in which the patient had not recently traveled from China, The Associated Press reports. The death toll from the coronavirus has reached 170, and in mainland China, more than 7,700 cases have been confirmed.