| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Now 4 Cases of MERS IN U.S.? Two Healthcare Workers Exposed to the MERS Patient Have Flu-Like Symptoms (Video)
Now 4 Cases of MERS IN U.S.? 2 Health Care Workers Exposed to MERS Patient Have Flu-Like Symptoms
May 13 2014
This is NOT to panic, but is a heads up, use BASIC infection control; wash your hands frequently! For more on the possibility that Saudi Arabia is sending infected people to the US on purpose; to spread this infection, click here.
Two health care workers went to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms after coming into contact with a patient confirmed to have Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, officials said Tuesday.
The Florida case is the second confirmed case of MERS imported into the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.
One health care worker in Orlando began showing symptoms 72 hours after exposure to the MERS patient but did not meet criteria for admission and was sent home, said Dr. Antonio Crespo, an infectious disease specialist at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, where the MERS patient is being treated. The health care worker will be monitored and seems to be improving, Crespo said.
The other one, whose symptoms began 24 hours after exposure, was admitted to the same hospital, officials said Tuesday at a press conference. Read more
Are you prepared?
.jpg)
This will probably not be a significant issue in this country. Hospitals need to use better isolation techniques. However, SARS is a coronavirus and look how quickly it spread. MERS is a coronavirus. And coronavirus in general is one of the viruses that can cause the common cold. All coronaviruses infect using the same basic mechanism. Some infect very quickly and these are the ones (MERS,SARS) that can be lethal. However, if this virus gets loose in NY it could be a problem.
It may well be that colloidal silver is effective against this virus. People should check with the manufacturer.
There is one product available at the larger Wallgreen’s stores that has undergone laboratory testing against a strain of coronavirus. This testing showed over 99% efficacy. Just to be clear the testing was in the lab, not in people and it was agains a sister strain of coronavirus, not the actual MERS coronavirus. The product name is FluNada and it is a nose and throat spray.
There is one school of thought that says a nasal irrigation system can be used just after exposure while a virus is incubating. If you subscribe to this belief, Nielsmed makes a pretty good nasal irrigation system that may help wash away certain viruses and allergens. It is available at most pharmacies such as CVS and WalGreen;s as well as WalMart.
A mask will probably not help much because the coronavirus is so very small. One study with influenza viruses and make showed it took 8 layers of surgical masks to have an impact (a level or reduction) of influenza transmission to viral culture plates protected by the mask.