Airports to carry MERS warnings

WASHINGTON — Now that a third potential case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has been discovered at a hospital in Orlando, 22 U.S. airports will post warning signs about the dangerous disease.

The Transportation Security Administration, at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will post the signs at the airports.

Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will be among the 22 airports where travelers will see the signs.

MERS first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and is believed to have originated in camels.

MERS is part of the coronavirus family of viruses, which includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003. MERS can cause symptoms including fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.

MERS warning signs posted at BWI

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Follow @WTOP and @WTOPliving on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

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