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3rd MERS case confirmed in US
3rd MERS case confirmed in US

3rd MERS case confirmed in US

An Illinois man has become the third person in the United States infected with the virus that causes a deadly disease and has killed dozens of people around the world, federal officials said Saturday.

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.

While a blood test showed the Illinois patient was infected with the virus, he has not shown any symptoms and has not needed any medical care.

The World Health Organization has confirmed nearly 600 cases of MERS, including 171 deaths.

Middle east respiratory syndrome was first diagnosed in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012 and has since spread to 18 countries.

Here’s what you need to know:

MERS does not appear to spread easily between humans like the flu, for example. The risk to the general public remains low, according to the CDC.

It takes close contact with a sick person, usually a healthcare worker or a loved one, to catch the virus.

MERS is in the same family of viruses such as the common cold. MERS attacks the respiratory system.

Symptoms include fever and cough and can progress to pneumonia and kidney failure.

Experts don’t know exactly where the virus came from, but it has been linked to infected camels in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the middle east.

There is no vaccine or medicine to prevent or cure MERS.

To help protect yourself the CDC advises people to wash their hands, not touch their eyes, nose or mouth with unclean hands. The CDC also says to avoid close contact with sick people.

Agencies/Canadajournal




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