U.S. patient with MERS virus is on the mend
Man in Indiana does not seem to have spread the respiratory illness
A man reported to have the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is in isolation and recovering, health officials said in a press conference May 5.
The patient, a U.S. citizen in his 60s, is a health care worker who lives in Saudi Arabia and traveled to Indiana on a planned visit to his family. Although he worked in the country that has been the epicenter of the MERS outbreak, he does not recall treating any patients who had the virus, health officials said. According to the Saudi Ministry of Health, 414 people in that country have contracted the virus since 2012, and 115 people have died.