Sepsis is diagnosed in at least 1.7 million adults annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 270,000 Americans die from sepsis every year, and 1 in 3 patients who die in hospitals are diagnosed with sepsis, the CDC says.

Currently, the only treatment option for sepsis is an aggressive regimen of antibiotics. However, this is only partially effective, and even an hour delay in antibiotics increases the odds of mortality by 10%.

If possible, patients under investigation should be given a surgical mask and moved to a negative pressure room. Healthcare workers should use appropriate PPE, including eye protection that should be goggles and not safety glasses.

In QSO 20-09-ALL, CMS noted that healthcare organizations have been told to consider emerging infectious diseases as part of the all-hazards approach to emergency preparedness all healthcare providers have been required to follow since 2016. The memo also notes that the CDC continues to issue information on the 2019-nCoV that began in China at the end of last year and has infected thousands, including more than 600 people who have died.

As of February 4, more than 20,000 cases of infections had been reported, with 98.9% of the cases in China, and the virus had been tied to more than 400 deaths.

As of February 4, the number of 2019-nCoV cases is estimated at 20,701, with 427 deaths and 727 patients considered recovered, according to a dashboard created by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

While domestic numbers of the virus are still low, the situation serves as a reminder that hospitals and health systems need to be prepared for whatever virus, outbreak, disaster, or emergency event comes their way.

The CDC confirmed that 2019-nCoV has spread between two people in the U.S. The latest patient is an Illinois resident with no history of travel to Wuhan, but shared a household with a patient diagnosed with the virus on January 21.