Indiana MERS Patient Asymptomatic

The man being treated for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is expected to leave the hospital soon, according to State Health Commissioner Dr. William VanNess.

VanNess says the patient being treated at Community Hospital in Munster is now "asymptomatic."

He says it won’t be long before the individual is released from the hospital and then sent to his family’s home where he will be in isolation for a while.

"They'll be testing this individual and they will not be released from home isolation until their antibody titers are down to normal," said VanNess.  "It's just like if you had the flu.  Once you are over it, you can go back."

VanNess wouldn’t give a timeline for the patient’s release.

He says now that there is a case of MERS in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control will ramp up its research.

"Now the CDC will do a lot of studies on this virus to fully understand maybe the incubation period, how contagious it is.  We've done genetic typing so we'll know exactly which type, which one it is," said VanNess.  "We'll have a chance to do a lot of studies of this virus that will help us in the future."

Health care providers who came in contact with the patient were sent home for 14 days as a preventative measure.  None tested positive for the disease and VanNess says if that don’t show signs, he expects them back to work next week.