The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is confirming that a man is being treated for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Orlando, Florida. This is the second case that has been confirmed in the United States, another case has been confirmed in Indiana.
CDC officials told Click Orlando that the patient was working in a facility in Saudi Arabia that was caring for another MERS patient. Apparently he contracted the disease while caring for another Middle East Respiratory Syndrome patient in Saudi Arabia.
In a USA Today article, “CDC officials cautioned that while the patient felt the symptoms of the MERS virus while traveling from Saudi Arabia, it was not known if the patient was infectious at that time.”
There have been 538 lab-confirmed cases of MERS-CoV worldwide, including 145 deaths attributed to it; the majority of those cases occurred in Saudi Arabia according to the CDC.
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. More than 30% of these people died.
Image of map showing countries in Arabian Penninsula with and without confirmed MERs as detailed on this page.So far, all the cases have been linked to countries in the Arabian Peninsula. This virus has spread from ill people to others through close contact, such as caring for or living with an infected person. However, there is no evidence of sustained spreading in community settings.