Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is spreading through the United States. The disease has now been diagnosed in two healthcare workers in Orlando, Florida. This is the second diagnosis of MERS in the United States announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both of the victims were in contact with patients suffering from the disease. One of the workers developed symptoms three days after contracting the virus. The healthcare worker was initially sent away, after failing to meet the criteria for admission to the hospital. The second worker fell sick just 24 hours after infection, and was brought in for treatment to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Orlando. Hospital management does not expect the infection to spread.
"[The patient's] symptoms were mild and he did not have a cough when he arrived at the hospital. He had minimal movement around the community prior to being hospitalized. MERS-CoV requires close contact, typically within six feet, for transmission to another person," the hospital wrote on their website on 12 May.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has already infected at least 500 people worldwide. Symptoms of MERS infection are similar to influenza, but this coronavirus is far more deadly. Nearly one-third of the people who catch the disease perish, taking at least 145 lives so far.
Most of the diagnosed cases and deaths are located in Saudi Arabia.
"The patient is visiting the United States from Saudi Arabia. The patient first flew to London and then through Boston and Atlanta, arriving in Orlando on May 1. The patient was hospitalized on May 9 and was placed in isolation once MERS-CoV was suspected," The Florida Department of Health reported in a press release.
The MERS virus was first reported in the Saudi kingdom in 2012. Researchers still don't know much about the disease, including how it is transmitted. There is evidence camels may be involved in the evolution of MERS, but the connection is uncertain. There is no known treatment or cure for the virus, but transmission outside hospital settings is not common.
A male healthcare worker who became the first patient in the U.S. with MERS has lately been released from a hospital in Munster, Indiana. That patient worked at a healthcare center in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, while at least one of the new victims treated people in the city of Jeddah. There does not seem to be a link between the cases in Indiana and Florida.
Up to 20 more hospital employees may have been infected with the disease and are being asked to remain at home for two weeks. This includes 15 people from Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, and five workers from the Orlando Regional Medical Center.
