Mers first coronavirus patient in the US

First coronavirus case reported from the US

05/03/2014

In the US, the deadly cornonavirus Mers was first detected in a patient. The US Department of Health said it was a person in the state of Indiana. The risk of infection for the population is very low. According to experts, "Mers is less infectious, but the death rate higher than other infectious diseases".

First Mers patient in the US
In the US, the deadly coronavirus Mers has been detected for the first time. As the US health agency CDC announced on Friday, it is a patient in the US state of Indiana. About a week ago, the patient had traveled from Saudi Arabia via the United Kingdom to the United States and shortly afterwards had symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath and coughing in a clinic. He was isolated there; his condition is stable. The virus can lead to severe pneumonia and kidney failure.

Contagion risk low for population
As the CDC said, the risk of infection is very low for the population. „We expected Mers to reach the US, we are prepared and act fast“, said CDC director Tom Frieden. Nevertheless, passengers are to be found who had close contact with the infected person during his journey. Since its discovery in September 2012, WHO has registered a total of 93 deaths worldwide, most of them in Saudi Arabia. However, this official figure of the WHO must probably be corrected, since Saudi Arabia alone reported 102 Mers dead.

Travelers should consider basic precautions
Little is known about infection, but experts assume that the transmission of the virus from camels to humans takes place mainly via nasal secretions. In addition, there is evidence that the symptoms are less severe in a human-to-human infection. Travelers wishing to travel to the affected Arab countries are advised to take basic precautions, such as keeping their distance from people with acute respiratory infections, and avoiding animal contact. In addition, general hygiene measures such as regular hand washing and the omission of meat that has not been completely cooked, as well as raw vegetables and unpeeled fruit, are recommended. Ten years ago, around 800 people died of the Sars pathogen, which also belongs to the coronaviruses. Although Mers is considered less contagious, it leads more often to death. (Ad)