Second case of MERS confirmed in US

A second case of MERS was confirmed in the US Monday where the patient is currently hospitalized and "doing well." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement that the patient is "a traveler who also came to the US from Saudi Arabia," and that people who had close contact with this patient "are being contacted." The first US case of MERS was confirmed on May 2 also in a traveler from Saudi Arabia, and he is considered to be "fully recovered and has been released from the hospital." The CDC stressed that the two US cases of MERS "are not linked." It affirmed that these two cases of MERS "represent a very low risk to the general public in this country." The CDC said it "continues to closely monitor the MERS situation globally and work with partners to better understand the risks of this virus, including the source, how it spreads, and how infections might be prevented."