The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Saturday that a man from Illinois was previously infected with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) but is no longer sick.
The case was discovered by the health officials while tracking those people who might have had contact with the Indiana patient who was diagnosed with MERS on May 2. The man worked in Saudi Arabia in an American health provider and was supposed to stay in the United States to see his family. Health officials reported that he had a "face-to-face" contact with the Illinois man on April 25 and 26 for a combined 40 minutes before he experienced the symptoms on April 28.
According to a CNN report, the Indiana man showed more severe symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and fever compared to the Illinois man who reported mild symptoms only.
The Illinois underwent a blood test in which he was found to be previously infected with MERS based on the presence of the MERS antibodies. The World Health Organization (WHO) does not consider him as an official victim because of lack of evidence of live virus. However, the U.S health officials believe he should still be counted and will discuss a possible reclassification to include milder cases.
"We think that this patient was likely infected with MERS. But technically he doesn't count as an official case of MERS," said Dr David Swerdlow, an infectious disease specialist in Decatur, Ga. and affiliated with the Atlanta VA Medical Center to CNN.
Meanwhile, the Illinois man was advised by the CDC to limit contact with other people and to wear a face mask. He has never been in other countries and might have contracted the disease during the flight only. The Illinois man landed in Chicago and had a bus ride to Indiana, Reuters reported.
The CDC is still testing 50 people who had contact with the Indiana man and is conducting additional tests even after they tested negative for extra precautions. The agency is now looking for those who had close contacts with the Illinois man.
