Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Is Shortness Of Breath, Fever And Cough After Travelling Symptoms Of MERS?
Question: Thanks, my best friends flew to California in XXXXXXX ,then to Utah. When they got back home the husband came down with all the mers systoms and couldn't leave his house for almost 7 weeks. Then just about that time the wife got it and went to Emory Healthcare Emergency Room 2 times, the doctors at Emory 4 times with coughing, not being able to breath, etc. Her's lasted over 7 weeks. The reason I'm telling you this is that my husband and I went to their house about her 6th week of this mess. The next thing we know he is coughing, can't breathe, has to sit up when trying to sleep. He's now in his 7th week. 6 Doctors later no one can tell us what it is. He started his 7th week on Monday. I can't get any Doctor to tell me what is wrong. Can you help me at all. He also came down with A-Fib at the Heart Dr. and got two inhaler's, one was for COPD - XXXXX by XXXXXXX . which hasn't helped at all.
He also developed A-Fib, and per his Lung Dr. COPD, however the inhaler has failed to work, he has been taking since Friday 5/9/14.
YYYY@YYYY
XXXXXXX
1901 XXXXXXXXXXXX, Ga. 30253
He also developed A-Fib, and per his Lung Dr. COPD, however the inhaler has failed to work, he has been taking since Friday 5/9/14.
YYYY@YYYY
XXXXXXX
1901 XXXXXXXXXXXX, Ga. 30253
Brief Answer:
Doubt the problem is MERS, but there is a problem
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic. I just want to make sure I have everything straight so I'm going to repeat what you said and try and formulate the questions you have. Then I will go to answering them. If i get anything wrong, or if i fail to address a concern, set me straight and i will do my best to fix it.
So, as far as your husband and your friends are concerned.
- Your best friend and her husband traveled to California and Utah in January 2014.
- The Husband developed symptoms of Fever (greater than 100.4) and Shortness of breath (or a cough) (Symptoms of MERRS) shortly after they got back and was confined to the home due to illness till the end of February or middle of March. (Treatment?).
- Around this time.. your best friend.. seems to have developed the same or similar symptoms and has been to Emory to see multiple doctors (Treatment?). The symptoms have extended from the End of February till the middle or end of April.
- You and your husband have visited their house and potentially been exposed to whatever they have around the 2nd or 3rd week of April.
- Your husband has now been suffering from Fevers and cough / shortness of breath from Mid April to now.
I hope I have the timeline right.
Now lets first discuss the big question here given all the mention of MERS in the media right now.
Q) Is it MERRS?
Ans) Probably not.. Let my tell you why I think that. Middle East respiratory syndrome is cause by a virus (called a Coronavirus) which originated in the middle east.
It has been confirmed in only two patients in the US, patient 1 is a HealthCare worker in Indiana and the second case reported in Florida is a patient with recent travel history to XXXXXXX
By my reckoning there is very little chance for your friends to have come in contact with anyone exposed to MERRS while they were on the WEST coast or in Utah. We normally see quite a strong pattern of division when it comes to disease spread between the coasts. It takes awhile for viruses to make their way from west to east and normally you would see hotspots of infection along the way as people travel from Airport to Airport.
Secondly, the timeline is all wrong, if their exposure happened in January on their trip, they would have been exposed to MERRS well before the virus is known to have reached the US.
Now second question.. more important in my mind
Q) What is it? What do we do?
Ans) It may not be MERRS, but your friends and your husband are all exhibiting symptoms of some respiratory infection... probably Bronchitis. There are LOTS of viruses out there that can cause this (including the virus that causes the common cold.. the Rhinovirus).
Given the symptoms are that of a viral infection causing Bronchitis.. the treatment is to try and let the immune system beat the virus (as we have no good antibiotics / antivirals against these types of organisms.
In the mean time we have to manage the inflammation (the 'itis' part of bronchitis) in the airway that is causing symptoms. The inhalers that have been given are steroid inhalers which should have brought down the inflammation and eased your husbands symptoms. If they are not doing that then we need to step up the treatment to stronger steroids.
In my opinion, you should take your husband to a good Pulmonologist (a Lung doctor) and take the inhalers too. If it were me and I was looking at a 72 year old man on Coumadin (among other things) with AFIB, symptoms of COPD and what may be a viral infection. I would probably admit him in the hospital for IV steroid therapy and testing to make sure that the infection is truly viral and NOT bacterial (if it's bacterial.. we have antibiotics for it and we can start treatment right away).
So to sum up.
1) I don't think you need to worry about MERS.
2) Your husband and friends seem to be sufering from acute bronchitis 9which is making your husbands symptoms of COPD even worse). You need to take your husband back to the Pulmonologist and tell him that the inhalers have failed. I think he/she might decide to admit at that point.. but that's their call.
I hope I helped here. Feel free to follow-up and ask anything on your mind.
Vinay
Doubt the problem is MERS, but there is a problem
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic. I just want to make sure I have everything straight so I'm going to repeat what you said and try and formulate the questions you have. Then I will go to answering them. If i get anything wrong, or if i fail to address a concern, set me straight and i will do my best to fix it.
So, as far as your husband and your friends are concerned.
- Your best friend and her husband traveled to California and Utah in January 2014.
- The Husband developed symptoms of Fever (greater than 100.4) and Shortness of breath (or a cough) (Symptoms of MERRS) shortly after they got back and was confined to the home due to illness till the end of February or middle of March. (Treatment?).
- Around this time.. your best friend.. seems to have developed the same or similar symptoms and has been to Emory to see multiple doctors (Treatment?). The symptoms have extended from the End of February till the middle or end of April.
- You and your husband have visited their house and potentially been exposed to whatever they have around the 2nd or 3rd week of April.
- Your husband has now been suffering from Fevers and cough / shortness of breath from Mid April to now.
I hope I have the timeline right.
Now lets first discuss the big question here given all the mention of MERS in the media right now.
Q) Is it MERRS?
Ans) Probably not.. Let my tell you why I think that. Middle East respiratory syndrome is cause by a virus (called a Coronavirus) which originated in the middle east.
It has been confirmed in only two patients in the US, patient 1 is a HealthCare worker in Indiana and the second case reported in Florida is a patient with recent travel history to XXXXXXX
By my reckoning there is very little chance for your friends to have come in contact with anyone exposed to MERRS while they were on the WEST coast or in Utah. We normally see quite a strong pattern of division when it comes to disease spread between the coasts. It takes awhile for viruses to make their way from west to east and normally you would see hotspots of infection along the way as people travel from Airport to Airport.
Secondly, the timeline is all wrong, if their exposure happened in January on their trip, they would have been exposed to MERRS well before the virus is known to have reached the US.
Now second question.. more important in my mind
Q) What is it? What do we do?
Ans) It may not be MERRS, but your friends and your husband are all exhibiting symptoms of some respiratory infection... probably Bronchitis. There are LOTS of viruses out there that can cause this (including the virus that causes the common cold.. the Rhinovirus).
Given the symptoms are that of a viral infection causing Bronchitis.. the treatment is to try and let the immune system beat the virus (as we have no good antibiotics / antivirals against these types of organisms.
In the mean time we have to manage the inflammation (the 'itis' part of bronchitis) in the airway that is causing symptoms. The inhalers that have been given are steroid inhalers which should have brought down the inflammation and eased your husbands symptoms. If they are not doing that then we need to step up the treatment to stronger steroids.
In my opinion, you should take your husband to a good Pulmonologist (a Lung doctor) and take the inhalers too. If it were me and I was looking at a 72 year old man on Coumadin (among other things) with AFIB, symptoms of COPD and what may be a viral infection. I would probably admit him in the hospital for IV steroid therapy and testing to make sure that the infection is truly viral and NOT bacterial (if it's bacterial.. we have antibiotics for it and we can start treatment right away).
So to sum up.
1) I don't think you need to worry about MERS.
2) Your husband and friends seem to be sufering from acute bronchitis 9which is making your husbands symptoms of COPD even worse). You need to take your husband back to the Pulmonologist and tell him that the inhalers have failed. I think he/she might decide to admit at that point.. but that's their call.
I hope I helped here. Feel free to follow-up and ask anything on your mind.
Vinay
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
