By Jason Abbruzzese From Mashable

The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed that a case of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome known as MERS has been found in the United States for the first time.

The disease has caused concern in Saudi Arabia, where it has killed more than 100 people since it first appeared in 2012. The outbreak there has intensified; 39 died in April.

“CDC and the Indiana State Department of Heath are conducting a joint investigation of the first case of MERS-CoV in the United States. MERS-CoV, a virus new to humans, was first reported in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012,” the CDC wrote in a media advisory.

MERS is a coronavirus, a common type of virus that includes illnesses from common colds to SARS. The CDC said MERS is passed by close contact, although it is still working to learn exactly how the virus spreads.

Symptoms of MERS include fever, cough and shortness of breath, with almost all cases of the illness occurring around the Arabian Peninsula. About one third of MERS patient that display symptoms end up dying.

The origin of the virus is not known for sure although a recent paper has found a connection to a similar virus found in camels.

The CDC said it is conducting an active investigation, including tracking down anyone the patient may have come in contact with. They have so far found no evidence of other cases.

The patient is a healthcare provider that recently came back from a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, flying through London and then to Chicago before taking a bus to Indiana. Symptoms did not develop until the person arrived in the U.S., the CDC said.

The CDC added that the patient is currently in stable condition and isolated in a hospital in Indiana, the CDC said in a call with media.

The CDC said it had been closely monitoring the spread of the disease in the Middle East and had taken precautions for its appearance in the U.S.

“We have been preparing for this,” said Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The CDC said it has an active investigation ongoing but has found no evidence of other cases.

Schuchat added that while the CDC is taking the case seriously, the overall risk to the general public is “very low.”

PHOTO: Egyptian Muslim pilgrims pray after they cast stones at a pillar near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 17, 2013.IMAGE: AMR NABIL/ASSOCIATED PRESS

For more on this story go to: http://mashable.com/2014/05/02/first-mers-case-united-states/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher