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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 18, 2014 12:54 PM IST
A third case of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus infection has been found in the US, the country's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Saturday.
The patient is an Illinois man who had close contact with the country's first confirmed case of MERS virus infection in Indiana and 'probably got the virus from the Indiana patient', Xinhua quoted the CDC as saying in a statement.
The Illinois resident 'did not seek or require medical care' and 'is reported to be feeling well' but as part of the MERS virus infection follow-up investigation of the first case, local health officials have monitored his health daily since May 3.
It said that the Illinois resident, who has no recent history of travel outside the US, met with the Indiana patient on two occasions shortly before the latter was identified as having had MERS virus infection.
The Illinois man tested positive for the MERS virus Friday night.
The first US MERS case is a US resident who had traveled back from Saudi Arabia and was admitted to an Indiana hospital April 28. He was confirmed to have MERS virus infection May 2, and has since been released from the hospital.
A second US imported case of MERS virus infection was confirmed May 11 on a 44-year-old man who also came to the US from Saudi Arabia. This patient is currently hospitalised in Florida and doing well, the CDC said.
The MERS is a virus that is new to humans and was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. As of May 16, there have been 572 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS virus infection in 15 countries with 173 deaths, according to CDC.
Most of these people developed severe acute respiratory illness, with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Officials do not know where the virus came from or exactly how it spreads. There is no available vaccine or specific treatment recommended for the virus.
What exactly is the MERS-CoV?
The MERS is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus which has been christened Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus.
MERS-CoV facts sheet
1. Spread by animals in contact with bats
Mostly carried by bats but also some other vertebrates, the MERS Coronovirus spreads very rapidly in animals when they are kept together in confined and crowded places like live-animal markets, slaughter houses and while transporting animals by ships. Close and prolong contact with infected animals, which may not show any symptoms, helps virus jump to human. As it happened in SARS most of the animal traders were found to have SARS antibodies without any symptoms. This is a stage of adaptation to a new host (Inter-species transfer) which led to possible viral genetic mutation to adapt to its new human host. Same may be true for MERS-CoV.
2. It doesn't spread rapidly among humans
MERS is not transmitted very readily from person-to-person. This may occur after close and prolonged contact with infected patient in closed environment like home, hospitals etc. Infection spreads by coughing, droplet infection. But it can become air borne, meaning spread by air in hospitals when infected patient is given pressurized oxygen, intubated or procedures like bronchoscopy or during the use of pressurized devises like dental drill etc making healthcare workers more susceptible.
3. Infection control in hospitals and clinics can prevent spread
Healthcare workers getting infected by MERS are reported on a regular basis which shows failure of observing stringent Infection Control Procedures in the hospitals. It is the responsibility of the hospitals to educate their staff, supervise and implement strict Infection Control and isolation procedures. Infected healthcare workers take the infection to their family and wider community. (Read: 12 fast facts about MERS-CoV)
With inputs from IANS
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