Member Since: 4/10/2011
Posts: 14,331
|
Deadly Virus Arrives in US
Quote:
The first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus has been reported in Indiana, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
The CDC and the Indiana State Department of Health are conducting a joint investigation into the case, according to a CDC statement.
Further details were to be released at a briefing at 3 p.m. ET.
The coronavirus, known as MERS-CoV, was first reported in the Middle East -- specifically, the Arabian Peninsula -- in 2012.
Since then, it has sickened 339 people in Saudi Arabia alone and killed nearly a third of them, according to the Saudi Ministry of Health. Late last month, Saudi officials noted a spike in new cases.
MERS-CoV comes from the same group of viruses as the common cold and attacks the respiratory system, according to the CDC. Symptoms, which include fever, cough and shortness of breath, can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.
Although many of the cases have occurred on the Arabian Peninsula, people have died of the infection elsewhere, including in European countries and Tunisia in North Africa. Egypt also reported a case on Thursday, according to the World Health Organization.
However, all of the people involved contracted the disease in the Middle East before being diagnosed. Limited human-to-human transmission of the disease has also occurred in other countries.
|
Source.
Quote:
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is viral respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is caused by a coronavirus called MERS-CoV. Most people who have been confirmed to have MERS-CoV infection developed severe acute respiratory illness. They had fever, cough, and shortness of breath. About 30% of these people died.
So far, all the cases have been linked to six countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula. No cases have been identified in the U.S. This virus has spread from ill people to others through close contact. However, the virus has not shown to spread in a sustained way in communities. The situation is still evolving.
CDC is working with partners to better understand the risks of this virus, including the source, how it spreads, and how infections might be prevented. CDC has provided information for travelers and is working with health departments, hospitals, and other partners to prepare for possible cases in the United States.
|
Source.
|
|
|
|
Noooooooooo!
