The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the United States.
Officials from the CDC and Florida's State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health held a media briefing on Monday afternoon.
Tom Frieden, MD, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced "the unwelcome but not unexpected news of another imported case of the MERS coronavirus in the U.S."
The patient is a healthcare worker who resides and works in Saudi Arabia. On May 1, the patient traveled from Jedda, Saudi Arabia to Orlando, Fla., flying from Jedda to London, England, London to Boston, Boston to Atlanta and Atlanta to Orlando, according to Anne Schuchat, MD, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
On May 8, the patient went to an emergency room and was admitted the same day. The hospital implemented standard contact and airborne isolation precautions to avoid exposure among the hospital and healthcare personnel, said Dr. Schuchat. Officials were not yet disclosing the name of the hospital or any further details about the patient.
Officials are in the process of notifying passengers on the domestic flights that they were on a flight with a passenger confirmed with MERS.
Officials maintain the public health risk remains very low.
"The virus has not shown the ability to spread easily from person to person in community settings," said Dr. Schuchat. "Clusters [of infection] from human to human occur most frequently with people caring for MERS patients."
The CDC does not recommend anyone changes travel plans, but it did change a travel notice for healthcare workers traveling to the Arabian peninsula area planning to work in healthcare settings, advising all travelers to take general precaution.
"There are two key concepts to coronavirus. First is the need for meticulous infection control in hospitals. What's been done in Indiana and what's being done in Florida is exactly what's needed to minimize spread," said Dr. Frieden. "The second issue is not overreacting in the society. We are not seeing widespread transmission. We are not seeing casual transmission. This does not present a risk to the general public, but it does have the twin risks of making sure we're fully responding appropriately in healthcare facilities."
As of today, there have been 538 lab-confirmed MERS cases worldwide, including 145 deaths. Saudi Arabia, which is experiencing the highest number of infections, has had 450 cases, including 118 deaths. These numbers are based on reported information shared by the World Health Organization since the virus first appeared in 2012.
Last week, the CDC confirmed the first case of MERS in the U.S. in Indiana. The patient is a healthcare worker in Saudi Arabia who travelled to the U.S. to visit family. The patient was discharged from the hospital today.
Note: This article was updated on May 12, 2014 at 3:37 p.m. CDT.
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