Concern over MERS in U.S.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is serious concern this morning about an extremely deadly virus that may make inroads here in the United States. Scientists here and abroad on high alert this morning. Why? MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, can lead to pneumonia or kidney failure.</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Today, two Florida health care workers that went to the E.R. after coming into contact with a MERS patient tested negative. 20 other health care workers in the Orlando area are now being tested. A healthcare worker in Indiana was the first confirmed case in the United States. The fear over this virus are so high that before Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with crown prince in Saudi Arabia, everyone entering the room was looked at for fever. Joining us is Dr. David Swerdlow, the CDC's lead scientist on MERS; and our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Good to have you both with us. First of all, Elizabeth, I want to begin with you. The CDC is contacting anybody who they believe were passengers on the very same flights as those two U.S. Patients confirmed to have MERS. Do we have any update on how these patients are doing?</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The cases in Indiana where there was a healthcare worker who flew from Saudi Arabia to Indiana, they contacted all of those people on the flight with that patient and they're all fine. That really speaks to how difficult it is to transmit this virus. Here this patient was on the plane for many hours for a period of time with these patients and none of them it appears got sick. The Florida patient is more complicated. There were several flights, London to Boston, Boston to Atlanta, Atlanta to Orlando, and the CDC right now is in the process of contacting every passenger who was on those flights to see how they're feeling and to ask them to give blood specimens.</s>BERMAN: Dr., the number of actual cases in the U.S., low single digits at this point. Number is not high. Explain to us why there is so much concern and who exactly is at risk here.</s>DR. DAVID SWERDLOW, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, CDC: Well, any time you have a virus that is emerged over two years ago and seen in multiple countries and travelers and healthcare workers and has a high fatality rate and really has no vaccine or treatment, we are concerned. We've been expecting that there could be possible cases returning to the United States and we have been preparing for that.</s>PEREIRA: Doctor, you say no vaccine and I think that gives many of us a bit of panic. I want to ask what is being done in terms of infection protection and in terms of control.</s>SWERDLOW: Well, that's exactly right. The most important thing is if you identify a patient is making sure they are protected and make sure that they are not able to give the infection to somebody else. That is why we've developed very careful infection control guidance that we've put out for over a year and a half and have let doctors all around the country know about so if they do identify a patient, that patient is put into a very strict infection control areas and so that no one else can be exposed to that person. That's our best way of preventing onward transmission of this virus.</s>BERMAN: The high mortality rate has people so concerned here. However, this is not something that passes that easily from person to person. How do you get this? Remind us.</s>SWERDLOW: We don't really know 100 percent. We think that there are some cases who have contact with camels. Some patients have had exposure through camels most likely. The other big source is health care facilities and a majority of the cases it appears now have had some contact with healthcare facilities and that is similar to what we saw in 2002 and 2003 with SARS so that's very concerning and why we are preparing and have infection control information on the web and make sure that if a someone comes to the United States with a possible case, we're prepared.</s>PEREIRA: Elizabeth, real quickly. Give people an idea at home the symptoms to keep lookout for.</s>COHEN: Right. The symptoms are cough and fever and some other flu- like symptoms. When I say these symptoms, I think everyone in the Cohen family had those this past winter. Those are so common. So the people who really need to be concerned are people who are family members of someone who has been confirmed with MERS and only two cases so there aren't that many of those. Healthcare workers who have taken care of people with MERS who have those symptoms. If I were one of them, I would be worried. For most of us, it's not a concern.</s>PEREIRA: Dr. Swerdlow and our Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so very much. We'll keep an eye on this. Coming up ahead on our show, Jackie Kennedy's private letters to a priest that are being auctioned off. Expressions of her deepest feelings are being sold.</s>BERMAN: Then take a look at this. What do you think that is? It's a balloon, sort of. It's a bouncy house with kids inside. They were hurt. Leading to so many questions about bouncy houses. Are they really safe? That's ahead @ THIS HOUR.