CDC Confirms Deadly MERS Virus Infection Has Reached U.S. Soil
May 3, 2014 
Apocalypse,Global Pandemics,Health & Wellness
Tracing Details of Deadly Virus Just Across the Michigan State Line
May 3, 2014
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – FOX 17 News is working with its Indianapolis sister station after the CDC confirmed a deadly virus from the Middle East has made its way to U.S. soil and the state of Indiana. MERS-CoV, short for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, is a type of coronavirus. The incubation period for MERS is 5 days.
The CDC and Indiana health officials say the patient is a health care provider who recently traveled from Saudi Arabia. They are calling the case a “rapidly evolving situation.” The CDC also says they would not be surprised if additional MERS cases are identified. They are approaching the situation with “an abundance of caution.”
The patient flew from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to London, England and then to Chicago on April 24. From Chicago the patient took a bus to Indiana. On the 27th, the patient began to experience respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, coughing, and fever. The patient went to an emergency department in an Indiana hospital on April 28th and was admitted on that same day. The patient is being well cared for and is isolated.
Community Hospital in Munster has contacted all high-risk individuals. In an abundance of caution, individuals who visited the Emergency Department (ED) of Community Hospital in Munster between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on April 28, 2014 should watch for signs and symptoms.
If you visited the ED during this time and begin experiencing symptoms, please call your healthcare provider and let them know about your possible exposure to MERS-CoV.
According to WXIN-TV, the patient flew from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to London, England and then to Chicago on April 24. From Chicago the patient took a bus to Indiana. On the 27th, the patient began to experience respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, coughing, and fever. The patient went to an emergency department in an Indiana hospital on April 28th and was admitted on that same day. The patient is being well cared for and is isolated.
The patient is in the hospital in stable condition and requires oxygen.
“We’ve anticipated MERS reaching the US, and we’ve prepared for and are taking swift action,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We’re doing everything possible with hospital, local, and state health officials to find people who may have had contact with this person so they can be evaluated as appropriate. This case reminds us that we are all connected by the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. We can break the chain of transmission in this case through focused efforts here and abroad.”
Since the first documented cases in spring 2012, MERS has sickened at least 339 people in Saudi Arabia alone and killed nearly a third of them, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
“It is understandable that some may be concerned about this situation, but this first U.S. case of MERS-CoV infection represents a very low risk to the general public,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC’s National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. In some countries, the virus has spread from person to person through close contact, such as caring for or living with an infected person. However, there is currently no evidence of sustained spread of MERS-CoV in community settings.