Test for MERS in patients recently in South Korean hospitals, U.S. doctors advised
MERS virus is thought to spread through sneezing and coughing, but not as easily as flu
Health officials are advising U.S. doctors to be on the lookout for people sickened by Middle East respiratory syndrome, also called MERS, following an outbreak in South Korea.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reminded doctors to ask patients with severe respiratory illness if they recently travelled.
Officials are now urging testing for MERS in very sick patients who had visited a South Korea hospital within two weeks of falling ill.
MERS was first detected in 2012 in the Middle East. More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed, including two travellers to the United States last year.
South Korea reported a 10th death from the MERS virus on Thursday, although officials say they believe the disease has peaked.
The victim was a 65-year-old man who had been treated for lung cancer and was hospitalized in the same facility as another MERS patient, the Health Ministry said.
Most of the deaths so far have been of people who had been suffering from pre-existing medical conditions, such as respiratory problems or cancer.
The MERS virus is thought to spread through sneezing and coughing, but not as easily as the flu or some other diseases.
With files from The Associated Press