There is a second confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome imported into the United States , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday . Officials from the CDC and the Florida Department of Health are investigating . The first U.S. case was reported this month in Indiana . That patient was released from a hospital Friday into home isolation , according to state health officials . The Indiana patient was an American health care provider who had been working in Saudi Arabia and was on a planned visit to Indiana to see his family . The Florida patient is also a health care provider who lives and works in Saudi Arabia , said Dr. Anne Schuchat , assistant surgeon general with the U.S. Public Health Service and director of the CDC 's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases . However , the Florida case is not linked to the Indiana case , she said . The `` risk to the general public remains very low , '' Schuchat said . In some countries , the virus has spread from person to person , but only in close contact , such as a person who was caring for an ill person . `` This virus has not shown the ability to spread easily from person to person in community settings , '' she said . The 44-year-old Florida patient traveled on May 1 from Jeddah , Saudi Arabia , to London , then from London to Boston ; Boston to Atlanta ; and Atlanta to Orlando . MERS : 5 things to know . The man began feeling unwell on the flight from Jeddah , and continued feeling ill on subsequent flights , with symptoms including `` fever , chills and a slight cough , '' Schuchat said . On May 8 , the man went to the emergency department of Orlando 's Dr. P. Phillips Hospital . The hospital said the man is `` in good condition and continuing to improve . '' Dr. Antonio Crespo , an infectious disease specialist at the hospital , said officials `` believe the risk of transmission from this patient is very low since his symptoms were mild and he was not coughing when he arrived at the hospital . '' The man was visiting family and did not visit any theme parks in the Orlando area , said Dr. John Armstrong , Florida 's state surgeon general and secretary of health . As in the Indiana case , officials were attempting to contact people -- in this case , more than 500 -- who may have come in contact with the person during travel , both in the United States and abroad . In addition , 16 staff members at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital have been notified of possible exposure and are being tested for the virus . Testing of people who have come in contact with the Indiana patient continues , and no additional cases have been seen , said Dr. Tom Frieden , CDC director . The CDC has dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia in conjunction with the WHO , Frieden said . MERS first emerged in 2012 , with the first cases being diagnosed in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012 . As of Friday , there have been 538 cases in 17 countries , including 145 deaths , according to the WHO , said Schuchat . The virus is also known as MERS-CoV , since it is a coronavirus , the same group of viruses as the common cold . It attacks the respiratory system , according to the CDC . Symptoms can lead to pneumonia or kidney failure . Testing for MERS involves looking for the virus 's molecular structure in a patient 's nose or blood . While the patient in Indiana was the first MERS case on U.S. soil , the CDC has been preparing for such a scenario and had been conducting an awareness campaign with hospitals and doctors since MERS emerged . There are no travel restrictions to the Arabian Peninsula ; however , the CDC suggests that people who visit there monitor their health and watch for any flu-like symptoms . If you do feel unwell after such a trip , be sure to tell your doctor about your travel . There is no vaccine or special treatment for MERS . Doctors say they believe the Indiana patient 's quick diagnosis and care dramatically increased his chances for getting better . MERS mystery : Virus found in camels . No one knows exactly how this virus originated , but evidence implicating camels is emerging . In a recently published study in mBio , researchers said they isolated live MERS virus from two single-humped camels , known as dromedaries . They found multiple substrains in the camel viruses , including one that perfectly matches a substrain isolated from a human patient . The same group of researchers reported in February that nearly three-quarters of camels in Saudi Arabia tested positive for past exposure to the MERS coronavirus .
The patient traveled from Saudi Arabia to Florida on May 1 . The first patient was released from an Indiana hospital Friday . Health officials say the virus poses a low risk to the general public .