New Virus May Be Dangerous but Seems Not Easily Spread

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Sunday, September 30, 2012

New Virus May Be Dangerous but Seems Not Easily Spread

By MARC SANTORA

A new strain of a potentially deadly virus related to SARS, which has killed one man in Saudi Arabia and left a Qatari man critically ill in London, does not appear to spread easily from person to person, the World Health Organization says.

Still, officials are urging vigilance, saying that health workers around the world should be on the lookout for anyone with acute respiratory syndrome and requiring hospitalization who had been in the Middle East, where the virus first surfaced, or in contact with a suspected or confirmed case within the last 10 days. On Saturday, the health organization, which was rushing to develop a diagnostic test, said that doctors should test for the virus only if the patient is severely ill, so as not to overburden the health care system.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.