(CNN) -- 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
patient is a health-care provider who recently traveled to Saudi Arabia to
provide health care, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general with the
U.S. Public Health Service and director for the National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
The
person, an American male, traveled on April 24 from Riyadh to London, then to
Chicago, and took a bus to Indiana, officials said. He began experiencing
shortness of breath, coughing, and fever on April 27, according to the Indiana
State Department of Health.
The
patient was admitted to Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, on April 28,
the same day he visited the emergency department there, the health department
said. He has been isolated and is in stable condition. He is receiving oxygen
support, but does not require a ventilator, Schuchat said.
MERS unlikely to cause a pandemic -- for now, experts say
The virus poses a "very low
risk to the broader general public," Schuchat said, as it has not been
shown to spread easily from person to person.
The CDC and the Indiana State
Department of Health are conducting a joint investigation into the case,
according to a CDC statement. The CDC confirmed Indiana test results on Friday.
"The CDC, IDPH (Illinois
Department of Public Health) and CDPH (Chicago Department of Public Health) do
not consider passengers on the flight or bus to be close contacts of the
patient and therefore are not at high risk," said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck,
director of the IDPH.
Passengers on the same plane and
bus as the patient will be contacted by the CDC as a precautionary measure,
starting Saturday, the Illinois statement said. If the CDC identifies ill
individuals with possible MERS-CoV, it will notify health officials in Chicago and
Indiana.
"There is no reason to
suspect any current risk to travelers or employees at O'Hare Airport at this
time," said CDPH commissioner Bechara Choucair.
The coronavirus, known as
MERS-CoV, was first reported in the Middle East -- specifically, the Arabian
Peninsula -- in 2012. Laboratory testing has confirmed 262 cases of the
coronavirus in 12 countries, including the Indiana case, Schuchat said.
Ninety-three people have died.
So far, all MERS cases have been
linked to six countries on or near the Arabian Peninsula, Schuchat said.
The Saudi Ministry of Health has reported 339 cases,
and said nearly a third of those have died. Not all of the Saudi cases have
been confirmed by the World Health Organization.
"The MERS virus is of grave
concern because of the virulence," Schuchat said. But, she added,
"We're not yet aware of confirmed sustained community transmission."
Late last month, Saudi officials
noted a spike in new cases.
The CDC has expected MERS to come
to the United States, Schuchat said. "We have been preparing for
this."
However, "The introduction
of MERS-CoV is another reminder that diseases are just a plane ride away,"
she said.
Opinion: Why MERS virus is so
scary
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.
The CDC has issued general
precautions such as frequent hand-washing, avoiding close contact with infected
people, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and
disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched.
Pediatricians should ask about
where young patients with high fever and respiratory symptoms have traveled,
Schuchat said.
"Young children often have
fever and respiratory symptoms, but the key here is: Was there a history of
travel within the past 14 days to the Arabian Peninsula, or contact with
someone? ... They should alert their clinician about that travel or
contact," Schuchat said.
Currently, the CDC does not
recommend changing travel plans because of the virus, Schuchat said.
No one knows exactly how this
virus originated, but evidence is emerging implicating camels. In a recently published study in
mBio, researchers said they isolated live MERS virus from two
single-humped camels, known as dromedaries. They found multiple substrains in
the camel viruses, including one that perfectly matches a substrain isolated
from a human patient.
The same group of researchers
reported in February that nearly three-quarters of camels in Saudi Arabia
tested positive for past exposure to the MERS coronavirus.
MERS mystery: Virus found in
camels
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 reported its
first case on April 26, according to the WHO.
Limited human-to-human
transmission of the disease has also occurred in other countries -- meaning
some people who traveled to the Middle East gave the virus to others.
Officials are not aware of any
other confirmed U.S. cases, Schuchat said, adding it's too early to assume no
one else is ill. An active investigation is underway.
No one knows exactly how this
virus originated, but evidence is emerging implicating camels. In a recently published study in
mBio, researchers said they isolated live MERS virus from two
single-humped camels, known as dromedaries. They found multiple substrains in
the camel viruses, including one that perfectly matches a substrain isolated
from a human patient.
The same group of researchers
reported in February that nearly three-quarters of camels in Saudi Arabia
tested positive for past exposure to the MERS coronavirus.
MERS mystery: Virus found in
camels
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 reported its
first case on April 26, according to the WHO.
Limited human-to-human
transmission of the disease has also occurred in other countries -- meaning
some people who traveled to the Middle East gave the virus to others.
Officials are not aware of any
other confirmed U.S. cases, Schuchat said, adding it's too early to assume no
one else is ill. An active investigation is underway.
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