URGENT: Update On Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) In U.S.

mers
(Photo courtesy of redorbit.com.)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article on the outbreak of MERS that was beginning to appear here in the United States.


Some felt that the article was alarmist and that one case does not constitute an outbreak.

There was a gentleman in Indiana who was treated for the outbreak that first made headlines about it.

However, there has been another case in Orlando.

On May 1, the patient departed from Saudi Arabia and took four flights before returning home to Orlando, FL. Two health care workers may have been exposed as well and they, along with about twenty other healthcare professionals, are being closely watched and monitored.

He then had to go to the ER, wait four hours to be seen, and then another eight hours before he was moved to isolation.

This was a full week later after contracting the virus in Saudi Arabia.

No Need For Panic

I mentioned this before, and I will say it again. There is no need for panic. Use common sense methods as you would with the flu, and it will be all right.

  • Wash your hands.
  • Don’t share drinks.
  • Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

While MERS is serious, it is not a global epidemic and we are not going to have a zombie apocalypse due to it.

WHO and the CDC are watching and there is concern, as there should be, but, again, there is no need for mass panic or worry.

Background information on MERS

To recap, MERS is a cousin of SARS, but there are a couple of key differences.

The main key difference is the fact that MERS does not seem to affect healthy people, unlike SARS, but those who have weak immune systems or those who may already be sick.


There is no cure or vaccine against it.

There is also no need to wear a surgical mask over your mouth and nose to avoid getting this virus.

Just follow the common sense procedures above, and it will be okay.

 

Edited by D.H.