Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

• Avoid walking barefoot on the beach. • Shower after participating in athletic games or going to the beach. Use soap and warm water. The sooner you remove possible contamination from the skin, the less likely infection will occur. Don’t share towels. • Launder gym and athletic clothes after each wearing. Wash your hands after handling dirty laundry or athletic equipment. • Use barriers between your skin and public surfaces such as toilet seats and mats. Disinfect seats, benches and handles of gym equipment before use.

MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (MERS)

First reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a severe illness caused by a coronavirus that affects the respiratory system. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath; some people also experience diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The mortality rate is very high, between 30 percent and 40 percent).42

MERS is spread from person to person through close contact in health care settings. The disease has spread from the Middle East to Asia. In 2014 two cases were reported in the United States—both in health care workers who had recently returned from working in hospitals in an affected country.

There is no vaccine against MERS. Current information about the disease is available on the CDC website.

SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first severe emergent transmissible disease of the 21st century. Like MERS, it is a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus. Initially reported in Asia in February 2003, SARS spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia before the outbreak was contained in July 2003.

More than 95 percent of SARS cases occurred in the Western Pacific region. The World Health Organization reported 8,098 SARS cases worldwide in 2003, resulting in 774 deaths. The last reported outbreak was in China in