What is MERS?
First reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, is a virus new to people. Some 538 cases of MERS have been confirmed in 14 countries, including two in the United States.
Most who are infected develop severe acute respiratory illness, fever, cough and shortness of breath; 145 individuals have died. Health officials don’t know where the virus came from or how it spreads, and there are no vaccines or treatments for it.
Help protect yourself
While experts don’t know exactly how MERS is spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that people do the following to help protect themselves from respiratory illnesses:
- Wash hands often
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and/or mouth with unwashed hands
- Disinfect frequently touched surfaces
Learn more at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
An airline passenger infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, may have exposed 90 Georgians to the deadly virus, a Georgia public health official said Tuesday afternoon.
But the Georgia passengers identified are at very low risk for exposure, state epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek said during a Georgia Department of Public Health board meeting Tuesday.
“It’s not easily transmitted person to person,” Drenzek said. “It seems to require very close contact, such as care-taking.”
The infected passenger — a health care worker who lives in Saudi Arabia — flew through London, Boston and Atlanta on his way to visit family in Orlando, Fla. He is the second confirmed case of the virus reported in the United States.
Overall, federal health officials are reaching out to inform more than 500 people that they may have come into contact with the patient, said Christine Pearson, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was unclear how many of those individuals had been reached as of Tuesday afternoon, but no related new cases of MERS had been identified, Pearson said.
“It’s kind of a fluid situation right now,” she said. “At this point, we’re still collecting data.”
Family members and health care workers who had close contact with the patient have been asked to stay home, monitor their health and wear a mask if they have to go out, Drenzek said. Passengers and others who had limited contact are urged to monitor their health but don’t have to stay at home, she said.
The MERS virus was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since then, 538 cases — including 145 deaths — have been confirmed in 17 countries. The vast majority of the cases and deaths have been reported in Saudi Arabia.
Those infected with the virus develop severe acute respiratory illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for MERS.
The first U.S. case of MERS was diagnosed in Indiana earlier this month. People who came into contact with that patient have all tested negative, Drenzek said.
Both patients were health care workers in Saudi Arabia. The Indiana patient has been discharged from the hospital, while the CDC reported Monday that the second infected individual was doing well.
Although experts don’t know exactly how the virus is spread, there’s no evidence of MERS spreading in the general population or communities, Drenzek said. Close contact, such as living with or caring for someone who is infected, appears to be key, she said. MERS has been identified in healthy camels in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, she noted.
The majority of infections passed between humans have occurred at health care facilities, with about 20 percent of all cases affecting health care workers caring for MERS patients, Drenzek said.
The second U.S. case involving a health care worker who lives in a country at risk didn’t come as a surprise to CDC officials.
“We have anticipated MERS reaching the U.S., and we’re prepared for and are taking quick action,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a conference call with reporters Monday.
The CDC has sent teams to Indiana and Florida to help contain the infections and learn more about the virus. Staff from the CDC and the World Health Organization are also in the Middle East examining where MERS comes from and its risk factors.
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