Officials: 2nd US case of MERS being reported

originally posted by: minusinfinity
If you guys want to be paranoid then knock yourselves out.

You know you could get hit by a car on the way home. A bolt of lightning or a meteor could strike you at almost anytime. A blood vessel in your brain could burst and kill you before you take your next breath. It happens.

If you live your life in fear of dying then I just feel sorry for you.

Those deaths that you posted are fast deaths and are not too worrisome it's the one that you suffer with agonizing pain for days or longer that people fear.

a reply to: ikonoklast

I have been watching the (first) US case simply because they don't know how the disease is spread. Even though this is a respiratory illness they do not believe it's airborne, which leaves it up in the air as of yet just how it spreads.

Will be interesting to find out as time goes on with these two cases if we can learn something more about it in general.

It's also interesting that it didn't spread yet from one person to another within the US. Both cases so far contracted the illness while overseas. This adds additional proof that this is not airborne.

Awww nuts... come on folks... who dropped the test tube?

First one with the right answer gets a free antedote...



Hey...we are no longer dealing with the 1918 Spanish flu boys and girls... we are living in the 21st century... you know... the one where we are supposed to deal with little outbreaks like this?

Spanish Flu :



2 Cases in the USA Vs check out the US census clock : www.census.gov...

I reckon that the US center for disease control and the World health organisation can give this little beasty a good kick up the bum considering the first reported case of this outbreak :

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is viral respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is caused by a coronavirus called MERS-CoV. Most people who have been confirmed to have MERS-CoV infection developed severe acute respiratory illness. They had fever, cough, and shortness of breath. More than 30% of these people died.

Image of map showing countries in Arabian Penninsula with and without confirmed MERs as detailed on this page.So far, all the cases have been linked to countries in the Arabian Peninsula. This virus has spread from ill people to others through close contact, such as caring for or living with an infected person. However, there is no evidence of sustained spreading in community settings.

On May 2, 2014, the first U.S. case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. The traveler is considered to be fully recovered and has been released from the hospital. Public health officials have contacted healthcare workers, family members, and travelers who had close contact with the patient. At this time, none of these contacts has had evidence of being infected with MERS-CoV.

On May 11, 2014, a second U.S. imported case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler who also came to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. This patient is currently hospitalized and doing well. People who had close contact with this patient are being contacted. The two U.S. cases are not linked.

Try to stop pooing yourselves people... things have been worse in the past.

More people have died from being shot by cops in the USA than Coronavirus since 2012...

If you really want to invest in toilet paper to avoid pooping your pants then maybe you should look at these two nasty beasties that are dripping off the ends of our noses :

Ebola virus and Marburg virus are related viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers — illnesses marked by severe bleeding (hemorrhage), organ failure and, in many cases, death. Both Ebola virus and Marburg virus are native to Africa, where sporadic outbreaks have occurred for decades.

Ebola virus and Marburg virus live in animal hosts, and humans can contract the viruses from infected animals. After the initial transmission, the viruses can spread from person to person through contact with body fluids or contaminated needles.

No drug has been approved to treat Ebola virus or Marburg virus. People diagnosed with Ebola or Marburg virus receive supportive care and treatment for complications. Scientists are coming closer to developing vaccines for these deadly diseases.

More here : www.mayoclinic.org...

Or :

scienceblogs.com...

And

www.who.int...

Just saying...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

This is just great…of all the places he could have gone it was right into Orlando where I live (within 15min. of the Airport). I totally bug out on things like this because there really isn't much you can do to protect yourself unless you see someone with obvious symptoms you can't know who to avoid…plus I am in school here so the breeding grounds are strong for germs there. The reason this disease bugs me out is it has a long enough incubation period that it could be spreading before you ever know about it. To whoever blows it off saying only 2 in 300,000,000 isn't taking into account that all diseases typically have to start somewhere and when 2 can turn into 40 in a matter of hours and 40 into a few thousand in another few and by the time the next wave shows symptoms it could be a whole lot more…then try to track them down haha good luck. Oh and to be in a place like Orlando with sooooooo much tourism traffic it really could make it far and wide really really fast.

a reply to: ikonoklast

I think this is important because it highlights 2 unavoidable facts: 1. The most scary diseases are just a plane ride away; and 2. Human activities accelerate germs' evolution.

And oh yeah, 3. We can't keep up 'cuz we evolve too slowly.

Thanks for posting in the News Forum. F&S&

The CDC has release a transcript of their press conference: CDC Transcript

Summary:

The second US MERS case is not linked to the first. The second case is a health care provider who lives and works in Saudi Arabia and was visiting family in Orlando, Florida. The patient is isolated in a hospital and is doing well.

The patient traveled from Saudi Arabia to Florida on May 1st, taking several flights:

• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to London
  
• London to Boston
  
• Boston to Atlanta
  
• Atlanta to Orlando
  

The patient became ill during the first leg of the trip (Jeddah to London), experiencing fever, chills and a slight cough. On May 8th the patient went to the hospital in Florida. On May 11th the CDC laboratory confirmed MERS.

They don't know yet how MERS spreads, but it appears to require close contact such as caring for the patient or living in the same home while the patient is infectious. There is no vaccine and no specific treatment.

They do not believe it is very easy to catch MERS without close contact. But they don't know whether someone can get MERS from airline travel with an infectious person and they don't whether this patient was infectious during their travel. As a precaution, they are checking on over 500 people in about 20 US states who would have been on a plane with the patient. Officials in London are also checking on people there.

They believe the incubation period for MERS is 5-14 days, so it is near the end of this period for anyone who traveled on the same plane as the patient.

As of May 12th, there were 538 laboratory-confirmed cases and 145 known deaths due to MERS worldwide, mostly in Saudi Arabia. There has been a large increase since March 2014 in reported cases. But they checked gene sequences in the new cases and they do not believe the virus has mutated to cause this. Instead they think the ability to identify and track cases has improved.

They think that at least one (and possibly two) of the health care workers exposed to the second US MERS patient in Orlando, Florida may have MERS:

"Two of the 20 team members exposed to the confirmed MERS patient are showing symptoms," said Geo Morales, spokesman for the Orlando hospital where one infected patient was treated.

"One of the two has been admitted to the hospital but is in stable condition. The other was treated and discharged and is following precautions at home. All 20 team members have been tested and we are expecting those results within the next day or two," the spokesman added.

SOURCE

Although they don't know how MERS is spread yet, all indications so far are that it requires pretty close contact. The risk to the general public is believed to be very low.

#3

US reports third case of potential MERS virus

Washington (AFP) - A third potential case of the dangerous Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS), has been found in the United States, health authorities said Tuesday.

full story

And then there is

Ohio measles outbreak largest in USA since 1996

As of Friday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had logged 187 cases nationwide in 2014,

story link