Canada Journal – News of the World Articles and videos to bring you the biggest Canadian news stories from across the country every day
Health officials say the patient who was being treated for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was released from Munster’s Community Hospital today.
A hospital spokesperson says the patient tested negative for MERS, does not have any more symptoms and poses no threat to the community. The patient has also been cleared to travel. The hospital finalized the discharge plan with the CDC and the Indiana State Department of Health.
“The patient is considered to be fully recovered and has been cleared by health officials to come off of isolation and may travel, if necessary,” the Indiana State Department of Health said in a written release.
“The patient has tested negative for MERS, is no longer symptomatic and poses no threat to the community,” Dr. Alan Kumar, the hospital’s chief medical information officer, said in the written statement. “Community Hospital finalized its discharge plan with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indiana State Department of Health, and the patient was discharged from the hospital.”
Middle East respiratory syndrome has sickened more than 262 people in 12 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
The unidentified patient, a man, lives in Saudi Arabia and traveled by air on April 24 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to London and then to Chicago, arriving at O’Hare International Airport and then traveling by bus to the Highland, Ind., area. The CDC and the state health department have contacted most of the passengers on the flights and the bus, and none was found to be symptomatic.
On April 27, the patient began experiencing flu-like symptoms, respiratory problems and a fever. He went with his family to Community Hospital in Munster, where medical staff suspected MERS and placed him in isolation within a few hours.
Agencies/Canadajournal
