Coronavirus: US will start testing people with flu symptoms, officials say

Five US cities to screen patients experiencing symptoms after evasive virus claims more than 1,000 lives abroad

People in the US experiencing flu-like symptoms will be screened for the latest coronavirus that originated from China, according to health officials.

Health systems in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle will screen patients through a national flu surveillance program, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced during a briefing on Friday.

Officials said the program is likely to expand as more confirmed cases are expected in the coming days and weeks.

The move follows reports of the 15th coronavirus infection in the US and the deaths of more than 1,300 people in China.

CDC officials said that there could be undetected cases of the mysterious illness in communities across the US, as the country experiences a dramatic spike in flu as the season approaches its halfway point.

Global cases of the virus have topped 64,000, including hundreds of health workers in China as it battles to contain the virus following its outbreak in Wuhan.

The latest case in the US involves a patient who was among a group of people under a federal quarantine order in Texas following a US government-chartered flight that evacuated US citizens from China earlier this month.

This week, 195 people were discharged from quarantine, while more than 600 others who recently returned from Wuhan remain under a quarantine order and "are being closely monitored to contain the spread of the virus", the CDC said.

Meanwhile, health officials report 26 million flu infections in the US so far this season, including 14,000 deaths.