CDC: First Case Of Deadly Middle Eastern Virus Confirmed In The U.S.
May 3, 2014, 00:29 IST
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today that the first case of Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus has been confirmed in the United States.
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CDC officials are investigating with health officials in Indiana, but the agency has not yet released any details.
The hub of the MERS outbreak is in Saudi Arabia, where there have been hundreds of cases since the virus first emerged in 2012. The virus that causes MERS is related to SARS but less contagious. Symptoms begin as a cold but can escalate to pneumonia, organ failure, and death.
An Assistant Surgeon General and an epidemiologist from Indiana will discuss details of the U.S. case with the press later this afternoon. We'll update this story with more details as we hear them.