Posted on 05/14/2014 5:13:24 AM PDT by wtd
Test results are expected today to find out if they and approximately two dozen others, who had contact with the patient, have contracted the potentially deadly disease. If any results come back positive, it'll be the first time MERS is contracted in the U.S.
Almost eight more hours passed before staff at Orlando's Dr. P. Phillips Hospital determined the patient had traveled from Saudi Arabia, where he worked at a hospital, began to suspect his exposure to MERS and had him moved to an isolation room, the hospital's chief quality control officer said...While the Orlando patient waited to be admitted, he was treated in a single room in the emergency department where healthcare workers wore gloves and gowns due to his diarrhea, but did not wear goggles and face masks appropriate for protecting them from the virus, Crespo said.
Florida officials said they were monitoring the health of 20 healthcare workers who had been in contact with the patient, including a doctor who had already left for Canada. They also were trying to track down nearly 100 people who may have overlapped with the patient at two Orlando medical facilities he visited.
Both US MERS patients were identified as health care workers traveling from Saudi Arabia (one a Saudi national) - both having been exposed to the virus in facilities treating MERS patients prior to international travel. "So far there have only been 64 cases of MERS worldwide but 38 people have died, a fatality rate of 59%"..."One big problem with MERS is how fast it transfers from human to human and how it has quickly moved from hospital to hospital."
“Both US MERS patients were identified as health care workers traveling from Saudi Arabia”
And where were most of the 911 hijackers from? And where
did the 911 hijackers money trail end? Saudi Arabia.
Nothing to worry about. Obama’s been briefed.
So it never entered the head of the health care worker who had just gotten back from Saudi Arabia to immediately tell the ER this pertinent information?
That’s some health care worker.
ping
12 day incubation period. If this virus has become more contagious, the first serious wave will hit in just under two weeks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced the second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the United States. Here are answers to commonly asked questions about this deadly disease.What is MERS?
MERS is a respiratory condition caused by a virus that's only recently been seen in humans. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Cases of MERS first appeared in September 2012 in Saudi Arabia, and the virus has since sickened more than 500 people in 14 countries. Close to 30 percent of infected people have died. Most cases have been in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The virus that causes MERS is called MERS coronavirus.
Is MERS the same as SARS?
No. Both MERS and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)belong to the same family of viruses, called coronaviruses, but the two viruses are not the same.
Unlike SARS, which tended to affect younger and healthier people, many people infected with MERS have had underlying chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart or kidney disease.
Where does MERS come from?
Researchers don't know for sure. TheMERS coronavirus has been found in camels in Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to the World Health Organization. But researchers can't say for sure if people caught the disease from camels. For example, it could be that another animal infects both humans and camels. The MERS virus has also been found in bats.
Has MERS come to the United States?
Yes, there have been two confirmed cases of MERS infection in the United States. Both cases were in people who caught the virus abroad and traveled to the United States.
The first case was in a person who traveled from Saudi Arabia to Chicago in late April, and took a bus to Indiana. The patient has fully recovered, and none of the patient's close contacts have signs of MERS.
The second case was in a health care worker who left from Saudi Arabia to travel to Orlando on May 1, and has since been hospitalized. Two health care workers who had contact with the second patient have since become ill, and health officials are investigating whether these people may have caught MERS, according to NBC news.
What risks do these two cases pose to the U.S. public? Can you get MERS from public transportation?
Health officials say the risk of MERS to the general U.S. public from the two MERS cases is extremely low. Transmission of MERS appears to require close contact, and most cases of human-to-human transmission have occurred in people who cared for those who were sick.
In both known U.S. cases, the CDC contacted people who were on the same flight as the patient, but an agency spokesperson said this was out of an "abundance of caution."
Has there been an increase in MERS cases lately?
Yes. Since late March, there have been 330 new cases of MERS worldwide, most in Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, there were fewer than 200 cases over the 1.5-year period between September 2012 and February 2014.
What's the reason for the increase? Is the virus mutating?
The reason for the recent increase in MERS cases is not fully understood. A number of the new cases occurred during outbreaks in hospitals, but there has also been a rise in "sporadic" cases, in which patients did not have contact with anyone else who had MERS, according to WHO.
Some of the increase may have been a result of better monitoring efforts, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, meaning health officials are detecting more cases. Health officials have sequenced the genome of the virus, and so far, it does not appear to be mutating, Friedensaid, speaking at a news conference Monday.
How long does it take to develop symptoms after you've been exposed to the virus?
The time between someone's exposure to the virus and when he or she becomes sick is usually about five days, and 14 days at the most, according to the CDC.
People who develop fever and cough or shortness of breath within two weeks of traveling to countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula should see their doctor, and tell them about their travel history, the CDC says.
This doesn’t bode well.
Hadj season is also upon us...millions all over the world traveling to Mecca and then back to their homes in various parts of the world. It looks like MERS has become much more transmissible from human to human. I wonder if we are seeing the opening shot of the first truly massive plague since the dark ages!
I just heard on Fox News 450 cases, and 152 deaths, IIRC. I duidn’t pay real close attention to the exact numbers, but I mentally calculated 30% at the time.
Our government is trying to get an epidemic started before the Nov. elections. They’ll do anything to win….seriously.
Check the goat population in the Muddy East. The folks over there, well, the ‘men’ over there kiss their camels and hump their goats. Check the goats.
Any idea if the UK has had any cases reported? Or, what they’re (UK) is doing for precautions?
64 REPORTED cases. People who get it and just have mild flu symptoms don't go to the hospital, and so it's never recorded.
"People who get it and just have mild flu symptoms don't go to the hospital, and so it's never"Exactly. Consider the population from third world countries returning from hajj in Saudi Arabia. How many fall ill upon return to their homes and simply submit to their inbred in'shallah fatalism - aka Their benevolent Allah had willed it/MERS, exposing their brethren to same.
The outbreak is in the oil rig area and a lot of the nurses etc. are Filippino. Haj is September...but the disease is already spreading when Saudi’s many overseas workers visit home...
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