U.S. Patient with MERS is Improving
The only known U.S. case of the dangerous Middle East respiratory virus -- a medical worker who became ill after traveling to Saudi Arabia -- is improving, health officials said Monday.
No additional cases had been identified as of Sunday, the Indiana Department of Health said, adding that a press conference would be held at 1530 GMT to give further details.
"The patient, whose name is being kept confidential, remains hospitalized in good condition and is improving each day," the department said in a statement.
"Since symptoms of MERS may take up to 14 days to occur, staff members at the hospital who had direct contact with the patient prior to the patient being placed in full isolation have been taken off duty and placed in temporary home isolation."
The patient is believed to have fallen ill with MERS while working in a healthcare setting in Riyadh. He then traveled by plane to London and Chicago, where he boarded a public bus toward Indiana.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said efforts were under way to contact people who may have been near the patient during his travels in late April.
MERS is a concern to authorities because even though it is harder to transmit than the flu, it is often deadly, particularly in older people and those with pre-existing health problems.
There is no vaccine to prevent MERS and no cure for the lung infection it causes. Some research has suggested it may be crossing from camels into humans.
MERS was first detected in Saudi Arabia and has spread to 12 countries.
Last week, Egypt recorded its first infection, after a person who had arrived from Saudi Arabia tested positive.
Meanwhile, Saudi health authorities said 115 people have died from the MERS coronavirus since the respiratory disease first appeared in the kingdom in 2012.
The country's number of MERS infections has meanwhile risen to 414, the world's highest tally, the ministry reported.
Source: Agence France Presse
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