Officials Detect Asymptomatic MERS Case U.S.; Patient Was Exposed To Country’s First Case

News outlets report on the ongoing outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the Middle East and U.S.

Associated Press: CDC: MERS virus spread in U.S., but 2nd man not sick
“Health officials reported Saturday what appears to be the first time that a mysterious Middle East virus has spread from one person to another in the United States…” (Stobbe, 5/17).

HealthDay News: Third U.S. Man Tests Positive for MERS Virus, CDC Reports
“A third U.S. man — from Illinois — has tested positive for the MERS virus but shows no signs of the illness, federal health officials reported Saturday…” (Reinberg/Thompson, 5/18).

The Hill: CDC finds third MERS case in United States
“…The unidentified man is a work associate of the first U.S. patient to have been diagnosed with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The first patient lives in Indiana…” (Cama, 5/17).

The Hill: CDC reopens SARS playbook from 2003
“The Centers for Disease Control is using its playbook from the 2003 SARS virus scare to handle a new pandemic that has killed 173 people in the Middle East…” (Al-Faruque, 5/18).

Reuters: Illinois man tests positive for MERS virus without falling ill
“…The Illinois resident’s lack of symptoms may shed light on milder forms of the deadly virus, which emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and has infected more than 500 patients in Saudi Arabia alone. It kills about 30 percent of those who are infected…” (Carey, 5/17).

Reuters: Silently among us: Scientists worry about milder cases of MERS
“…[CDC officials] plan to test the family members of people with mild MERS, even if these relatives don’t have any symptoms, to help determine whether the virus can spread within a household…” (Steenhuysen, 5/17).

Reuters: Foreign doctors, nurses in Saudi Arabia could take MERS global
“The biggest risk that Middle East Respiratory Syndrome will become a global epidemic, ironically, may lie with globe-trotting healthcare workers…” (Begley, 5/18).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.