Florida MERS patient still has fever

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Employees at two Orlando hospitals who came in contact with a Saudi resident infected by the second confirmed U.S. case of a rare virus are being monitored for symptoms and have been told to stay home for two weeks, health officials said Tuesday.

Fifteen hospital workers at Dr. Phillips Hospital and another five employees at Orlando Regional Medical Center were being monitored at home for fever, chills and muscle aches, said Dr. Antonio Crespo, an official with the hospital system.

So far, none of them has tested positive for MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. MERS is a respiratory illness that begins with flu-like fever and cough but can lead to shortness of breath, pneumonia and death.

The Saudi resident was being treated at Dr. Phillips Hospital, where he showed up at the emergency room May 8. Three days earlier, he had visited Orlando Regional Medical Center with a friend who went to the hospital for a test.

Two workers at Dr. Phillips Hospital, who were not identified, have shown flu-like symptoms recent days. One of them was sent home, and the other has been hospitalized in isolation. Both are awaiting test results that could come later this week. Crespo said MERS has been shown to have a 14-day incubation period.

“We are prepared for situations like this. This is what we do every day,” Crespo said.

Crespo said the Saudi resident spent most of his time in Orlando at the home he was staying at, and he didn’t visit any of the area’s tourist attractions.

The 44-year-old patient still has a low-grade fever and is being treated in isolation at Dr. Phillips Hospital.

Dr. Kevin Sherin, health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, said that though those who came into contact with the man are being monitored, the risk to local residents remains “negligible.”

The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama had been briefed on the MERS cases in the U.S.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama’s team is watching the situation very closely and that the Centers for Disease Control is coordinating responses along with Florida officials.