More SARS deaths announced. Scary.

[Natalka]

Was just waiting for MERS to hit this continent, it was inevitable.

"So far, including this U.S. importation, there have been 401 confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection in 12 countries. To date, all reported cases have originated in six countries in the Arabian Peninsula. Most of these people developed severe acute respiratory illness, with fever, cough, and shortness of breath; 93 people died. Officials do not know where the virus came from or exactly how it spreads. There is no available vaccine or specific treatment recommended for the virus.

Federal, state, and local health officials are taking action to minimize the risk of spread of the virus. The Indiana hospital is using full precautions to avoid exposure within the hospital and among healthcare professionals and other people interacting with the patient, as recommended by CDC."

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/20...2-US-MERS.html

More info on MERS

http://www.in.gov/isdh/25796.htm

[Shwa Girl]

Thanks for the info Natalka.
I think that it makes it more important for people to get their regular shots up to date. So the docs can have an easier job excluding other diseases and so it is easier for them to diagnose and treat MERS.
Can you imagine a parent coming into the emergency room with a child and then telling the docs that the child had no shots? They would have to do a lot of digging and waste a lot of time before they even think of diagnosing MERS in a child

[ThatScott]

wow

[Natalka]

May 13, 2014

Two health-care workers at a hospital in Florida are showingsymptoms of flu-like illness after exposure to a Saudi resident infected with MERS, officials say.

One of the two workers has been hospitalized, and the other has been isolated in his home and is being monitored for signs of infection.

About 15 other workers at Dr. Phillips Hospital, as well as five workers at a second Orlando hospital where the Saudi resident visited, have been asked to stay home from work for two weeks until they are cleared of having the virus.
One of the workers is a doctor who travelled to Canada, a hospital spokesperson said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mers-s...kers-1.2641186

---------------
May 14, 2014

LONDON – The spread of a puzzling respiratory virus in the Middle East and beyond is not a global health emergency despite a recent spike in cases, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The decision was made after a meeting of WHO’s expert group on the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.


Since 2012, MERS has sickened more than 500 people and killed 145, mostly in the Middle East. The majority of cases have been in Saudi Arabia, although the disease has spread within the region and to Asia, North Africa, Europe and the United States.


“Calling a global emergency in a world which has a lot of issues is a major act,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, an assistant director-general of WHO, told reporters Wednesday. “You have to have really solid evidence to say this is a global emergency.”
Fukuda said there wasn’t yet proof of the virus’ sustained transmission among people.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1330419/wh...lth-emergency/

[Shwa Girl]

May 13, 2014

Two health-care workers at a hospital in Florida are showingsymptoms of flu-like illness after exposure to a Saudi resident infected with MERS, officials say.

One of the two workers has been hospitalized, and the other has been isolated in his home and is being monitored for signs of infection.

About 15 other workers at Dr. Phillips Hospital, as well as five workers at a second Orlando hospital where the Saudi resident visited, have been asked to stay home from work for two weeks until they are cleared of having the virus.
One of the workers is a doctor who travelled to Canada, a hospital spokesperson said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mers-s...kers-1.2641186

---------------
May 14, 2014

LONDON – The spread of a puzzling respiratory virus in the Middle East and beyond is not a global health emergency despite a recent spike in cases, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The decision was made after a meeting of WHO’s expert group on the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.


Since 2012, MERS has sickened more than 500 people and killed 145, mostly in the Middle East. The majority of cases have been in Saudi Arabia, although the disease has spread within the region and to Asia, North Africa, Europe and the United States.


“Calling a global emergency in a world which has a lot of issues is a major act,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, an assistant director-general of WHO, told reporters Wednesday. “You have to have really solid evidence to say this is a global emergency.”
Fukuda said there wasn’t yet proof of the virus’ sustained transmission among people.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1330419/wh...lth-emergency/

Thanks Natalka.

Maybe another reason to get the flu shot. I know some people are against it, but then, emergency rooms can rule out regular ‘flu compared to flu like symptoms that can happen with SARS or MERS. Otherwise, the doctors are starting from scratch. And sometimes, the sick person does not have that time to wait for a diagnosis

[Natalka]

... and it moves on

The first case of the respiratory illness MERS has been recorded in the Netherlands, the public health institute RIVM said on Wednesday.

The patient became ill in Saudi Arabia after visiting Mecca and Medina. He was admitted to hospital in The Hague on May 10, where MERS was diagnosed.

The man is said to be stable and is being nursed in an isolation unit. Everyone who has been in contact with him since his return is being identified and monitored, the RIVM said in a statement.

- See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive....f3Dw5VQP.dpuf

[Shwa Girl]

... and it moves on

The first case of the respiratory illness MERS has been recorded in the Netherlands, the public health institute RIVM said on Wednesday.

The patient became ill in Saudi Arabia after visiting Mecca and Medina. He was admitted to hospital in The Hague on May 10, where MERS was diagnosed.

The man is said to be stable and is being nursed in an isolation unit. Everyone who has been in contact with him since his return is being identified and monitored, the RIVM said in a statement.

- See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive....f3Dw5VQP.dpuf

yikes
I guess with air travel, it was bound to show up in other countries
but
yikes

[Natalka]

Man who met MERS patient has virus, not sick

An Illinois man has been diagnosed with MERS, but is feeling well and does not need medical treatment, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Health officials say an Illinois man has apparently picked up an infection from the only American diagnosed with a mysterious Middle East virus, but the man has not needed medical treatment.
The first U.S. case of Middle East respiratory syndrome was confirmed earlier this month in Indiana, where a man fell ill shortly after arriving from Saudi Arabia where he lived

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that tests completed Friday show the Illinois man probably was infected with the virus after having close contact twice with the MERS patient in Indiana.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/man-who...-cdc-1.2646502


The two men met twice before the Indiana man fell ill and was hospitalized in Munster, Indiana, shortly after travelling from Saudi Arabia, where he lived and was employed as a health care worker. Health officials say they think the virus spread during a 40-minute business meeting that involved no more contact than a handshake.

"We don't think this changes the risk to the general public," which remains low, said Dr. David Swerdlow of the CDC.
The new report also is not considered evidence that the virus is spreading more easily among people than previously thought, he said. The virus is not considered to be highly contagious, and health officials believe it only spreads from person to person with close contact. Many of those who have gotten sick in the Middle East have been family members or health care workers caring for a MERS patient.
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/life/cd....1I7fjhAL.dpuf

[Natalka]

MERS virus outbreak South Korea

Outbreak has killed seven and infected more than 100

The South Korean outbreak originated from a 68-year-old man who had travelled to the Middle East before being diagnosed as the country's first MERS patient last month

South Korea's health ministry said on Tuesday there were eight new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), bringing the total to 95 but representing a sharp fall in the number of daily new cases from 23 reported a day earlier.
The ministry also said a patient infected with the MERS virus has died, becoming the seventh fatality in an outbreak that began in May.

South Korea has the second highest number of infections after Saudi Arabia, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Three of the cases newly reported on Tuesday came from the same hospital emergency room, which has 37 out of the total of 95 cases, the ministry said.

All 95 cases of infection took place in health care facilities, according to the ministry.

About 2,500 people, who may have had contact with MERS patients, have been put under quarantine, some in hospitals but most at home.

South Korea's new cases bring the total of MERS cases globally to 1,244, based on World Health Organization (WHO) data, with at least 446 related deaths.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-k...ases-1.3105565


Since MERS first emerged three years ago, there have been fears the virus would take off like SARS did, sparking widespread disease. But although occasional cases have been exported — to France, Britain, the United States and Germany among other countries — there hasn't been a substantial outbreak outside the Middle East until now.

It is important to investigate the South Korean outbreak, because it could signal something has changed, said Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases expert. But McGeer said, so far, she thinks South Korea is experiencing what Middle Eastern countries have seen with hospital outbreaks.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/south-...-off-1.3096682

[Natalka]

Mers death toll rises to 16 in South Korea outbreak

Officials also reported five new cases in South Korea, which has the largest outbreak outside the Middle East.
Officials say 150 people have now contracted the virus in South Korea.


A hospital in the South Korean capital Seoul has suspended most of its services after being identified as the source of almost half the cases.


The president of the Samsung Medical Center issued a public apology on Sunday.
Samsung Medical Center president Song Jae-hoon told reporters that the hospital would stop treating outpatients and admitting new patients to prevent further infections among patients and medical staff.
He said no visitors would be allowed, and non-urgent surgery was being stopped.


More than 70 cases have been traced back to the hospital, authorities say.
Among them was an emergency ward orderly who worked for days after developing symptoms and came into contact with more than 200 people, officials said.
It is believed the orderly picked up the virus from an infected person who waited for days in various parts of the emergency ward, potentially exposing the virus to an estimated 900 staff, patients and visitors.


The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the outbreak is "large and complex" with further cases expected, although it does not expect the outbreak to spread among the wider community.



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33130353

[Natalka]

In Saudi Arabia, as of June 12

Saudi Arabia's total from MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) to 1,030 cases, 453 of them fatal. So far 568 people have recovered, 8 are still being treated, and 1 is in home isolation.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...an-jun-12-2015

The following 25 countries have reported cases of MERS: Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Middle East); Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (UK) (Europe); Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt (Africa); China, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and the Philippines (Asia); and the United States of America (Americas).



The vast majority of these cases have so far occurred in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/coron...ctions/faq/en/