NBCNEWS.COM - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on
Thursday warned state and local health officials about potential
infections from a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has now
sickened 14 people and killed 8.
Most of the infections have occurred in the Middle East, but a new
analysis of three confirmed infections in Britain suggests the virus
can pass from person to person rather than from animal to humans, the
CDC said in its Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report on Thursday.
The virus is a coronavirus, part of the same family of viruses as
the common cold and the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) that first emerged in Asia in 2003. The new virus is
not the same as SARS, but like the SARS virus, it is similar to those
found in bats.
So far, no cases have been reported in the United States.
According to the CDC's analysis, the infections in Britain started
with a 60-year-old man who had recently traveled to Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia and developed a respiratory illness on Jan. 24, 2013. Samples
from the man showed he was infected with both the new virus and with
H1N1, or swine flu.
This man subsequently passed the infection to two members of his
household: a male with an underlying illness who became ill on Feb. 6
and subsequently died; and a healthy adult female in his household who
developed a respiratory illness on Feb. 5, but who did not need to be
hospitalized and has recovered.
The CDC said people who develop a severe acute lower respiratory
illness within 10 days of returning from the Arabian Peninsula or
neighboring countries should continue to be evaluated according to
current guidelines.
The health agency said doctors should be watchful of patients who
develop an unexplained respiratory infection within 10 days of
traveling from the Arabian Peninsula or neighboring countries. The CDC
has set up a special website with updates on the infections.
Symptoms
of infection with this new virus include severe acute respiratory
illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath. Neither the CDC nor
the World Health Organization has issued travel restrictions related to
the virus.
