Middle East Respiratory Syndrom (MERS) Reaches United States: Virus First Identified in Saudi Arabia Has 25% Death Rate
Federal health officials in the U.S. announced the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Virus in the country on Friday. The still unnamed patient is a male health care professional who had worked in Saudi Arabia and is currently being treated in an Indiana hospital. MERS Virus was first identified in Saudi Arabia and has caused the death of approximately one-fourth of the people who had the virus.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases director, said that a person can get the virus through close contact like living with or caring for an infected individual. Therefore, health workers are at high risk. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that there is no proof of MERS spread in general settings, but spreads quickly in community settings, meaning that people living in dormitories may need to be isolated if diagnosed with the disease. Schuchat also declared that the unidentified patient was isolated, is getting oxygen, and is in steady condition. No other details were given with regards to the age or other identifying information about the patient, the kind of health care the patient is involved in, or even the name of the hospital in Indiana. It is not known to Indiana Health officials or the CDC how the patient got infected, but said that there is a high probability that it occurred in Saudi Arabia.
The patient left Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on April 24; then traveled from London to Chicago. The patient went to Indiana by taking a bus from Chicago. CDC said that the patient started having "respiratory symptoms," on April 27 and was brought to Indiana hospital April 28 for admission.
The health officials in Indiana tested the patient for MERS because he had traveled to Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of MERS, and showed the following symptoms: shortness of breath, cough, and fever. The diagnosis was confirmed by CDC officials on Friday, May 2.
Dr. Schuchat said that CDC officials are working closely with the airline and bus companies to find the other individuals who may have had close contact with the patient, but expect most or all of those passengers are at very little risk due to how short and mild their contact was.
There have been a total of 401 confirmed MERS cases in 12 countries so far. Most of these cases came from six countries situated in the Arabian Peninsula. There have been 93 reported deaths. CDC officials also announced that there is no recommended cure or available vaccine for MERS Virus; instead, patients are isolated to prevent others from being infected and given support to help their bodies fight off the infection.
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