Photo Credit NIAID
# 8677
Yesterdays’ announcement by the CDC: New Tests Reveal Illinois `MERS’ Case Was Never Infected came via a 30 minute telebriefing conducted by Dr. David Swerdlow and Dr. Mark Pallansch.
Although many of the high points were covered in yesterday’s press release, the transcript & audio below also contain the reporter’s Q&A session, some of which include criticisms on how the initial findings were released.
While no one wants to see incorrect information go out, the CDC was really caught in a catch-22 here.
Had they tried to keep a lid on their Illinois contact investigation until the third, and final, test results were in (a matter of several more days), the odds are someone would have posted on Twitter or Facebook they (or a family member, or neighbor) had been `contacted public health authorities, asked for a sample, and told to stay home’ .
In this age of tablets and cell phones, within a matter of a few hours that choice tidbit would have gone viral, and the CDC would have been left looking like it was hiding something.
The next time this happens (and the odds say, it probably will), I suspect the CDC will stress the `preliminary nature of the test results’ and perhaps call such cases `probable or suspected’ rather than confirmed.
But still . . . telling the public what they reasonably think they know, when they know it, is just about always going to be the right call.
Even if it requires correction or modification downstream.
Press Briefing Transcript
CDC Telebriefing – CDC concludes Indiana MERS patient did not spread virus to Illinois business associate
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 1:00 p.m. ET
For more, Dr. Ian Mackay has penned a blog on this turn of events, which you can read at:
MERS-CoV did not just transmit via 2 meetings and a handshake...the retraction [UPDATED with CDC Press Release]
There must be a couple of internally relieved people around the US CDC today. Relieved. Why? Because they have got off their chest something they must have had a growing inkling about for at least a few days now. That being the news result that the Illinois 3rd US case was in fact not infected by MERS-CoV via a handshake and 2 meetings, 1 lasting 40min.
So that didn't happen.
