First American case of deadly SARS-like virus sweeping the Middle East is reported in Indiana health worker who returned from Saudi Arabia via London



Indiana health care worker with MERS had recently returned from Saudi Arabia

Of the 400 people who have been infected with the disease, 100 have died

An Indiana man has become the first American to be infected with a deadly virus that has swept across the Middle East, it was announced today.



The man fell ill after arriving in the U.S. about a week ago from Saudi Arabia where he is a health care worker. He traveled via London to Chicago before getting a bus to Indiana, according to local TV station WTHR.



He is hospitalized in Indiana with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is investigating the case along with Indiana health officials.

Saudi Arabia has been the center of an outbreak of MERS that began about two years ago. At least 400 people have had the respiratory illness, and more than 100 people have died.



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Spreading: A health worker who recently returned to Indiana from Saudi Arabia has the first American case of SARS

All had ties to the Middle East or to people who traveled there. Infections have been previously reported among health care workers.

MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which caused some 800 deaths globally in 2003.

The MERS virus has been found in camels, but officials don't know how it is spreading to humans. It can spread from person to person, but officials believe that happens only after close contact. Not all those exposed to the virus become ill.

But it appears to be unusually lethal — by some estimates, it has killed nearly a third of the people it sickened. That's a far higher percentage than seasonal flu or other routine infections. But it is not as contagious as flu, measles or other diseases. There is no vaccine or cure for MERS.

Health experts are particularly concerned about the spread of MERS. In Saudi Arabia alone, there have been 345 reported cases and 100 deaths

The CDC on Friday released only limited information about the U.S. case: The man flew to the United States about a week ago, with a stop in London. He landed in Chicago and took a bus to the neighboring state of Indiana. He didn't become sick until arriving in Indiana, the CDC said. Symptoms include fever, cough, breathing problems, which can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.

CDC officials say they are sending a team to investigate the man's illness, his travel history and to track down people he may have been in close contact with.

Saudi Arabia health officials have recently reported a surge in MERS illnesses; cases have tended to increase in the spring. Experts think the uptick may party be due to more and better surveillance. Researchers at Columbia University have an additional theory — there may be more virus circulating in the spring, when camels are born.