Scientists find mild cases of MERS among patients' families

[riky]

Scientists find mild cases of MERS among patients' families

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-mild-cases-mers-among-patients-families-210651534.html"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/.ct8mjp9XKvp9EaFWTrrJw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9NzU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-27T210651Z_1_LYNXMPEA7Q0ZI_RTROPTP_2_SAUDI-MERS-FAILINGS.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="A boy wearing a mask is held by his father in Taif" align="left" title="A boy wearing a mask is held by his father in Taif" border="0" /></a>By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fewer than half of Saudi Arabian patients in a study passed the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus to household members, and many of those who developed secondary infections contracted mild cases of MERS, global researchers reported on Wednesday. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed observations that the virus can cause mild disease, but overall transmission rates are low. &quot;If less than half of infected patients transmit the virus to contacts, such as in this study, we can be pretty sure that this virus will not be able to start an epidemic in humans,&quot; co-author Christian Drosten of the Institute of Virology at the University of Bonn Medical Center said in an email. MERS, thought to originate in camels, causes coughing, fever and pneumonia, and kills about a third of its victims.</p><br clear="all"/>

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