MERS virus has been confirmed to arrive in the United States aboard a jetliner that originated from the Middle East. Investigations made by federal and state officials pointed out the discovery that the deadly respiratory illness arrived 10 days ago at the O'Hare International Airport.
MERS, which stand s for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, is a deadly virus that kills an estimated quarter of individuals who are infected by it. The virus which originated from the Middle East, was reported recently to have reached the United States. The recent health incident urged federal and state authorities to conduct investigations about the virus.
An infectious disease specialist from Rush University Medical Center, Dr. Michael Lin, gave statements that United States has no experience in dealing with the MERS virus as of the moment. He also said that most of the information about the virus and how it spreads comes from the Middle East, saying that MERS seems to be not that extremely infectious although its is a major health threat being a deadly and lethal disease.
The MERS virus has been recorded to have 401 confirmed cases that are found in 12 countries, which includes the United States with its most recent reports, based on a statement provided by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Investigations concluded the MERS virus arrived in the United States in April 24, said the CDC, which came from a traveler who was aboard a jetliner that flew from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, stopping by London, and finally landing at Chicago. The traveler who was known to be infected with the virus boarded a bus going to Indiana.
The infected patient was admitted to a Community hospital in Munster, Ind., after experiencing fever and cough. A diagnosis conducted by the doctors of the hospital with the patient confirmed infection from the MERS virus, which was also corroborated last week by the CDC and Indiana health officials.
An order from the Indiana health officials on Friday, addressed individuals who were in contact with the infected patient to be diagnosed of the MERS virus to stop the disease from spreading. The individuals who were considered to be in high risk from the illness should visit the emergency department of the hospital and watch out from symptoms and signs of the virus.
Passengers of the jetliner that were in contact with the infected patient were also contacted by the CDC on Saturday for proper diagnosis of the MERS virus, although health officials don't consider them to be a high risk.
The recent case about the MERS virus in the United States prompted health care professionals to consider the illness to be a potential threat to patients who are suffering from symptoms associated with the disease. Patients are also encourage to share travel history information, specially those who recently came from Middle East countries.
