Health officials at Center for Disease Control confirmed the first case of an American infected with Middle Eastern Respiratory Symptoms that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East.

The man who checked into an Indiana medical facility falling ill after flying to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia last week. He was working as a health care worker in the country.

In a briefing by the CDC, Dr. Anne Schuchat was quoted as saying in an AP report, the particular incident is not thought to be very contagious and it "represents a very low risk to the broader, general public."

The man is still in the hospital but stable with MERS in a northwest Indiana, said the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indiana health officials, who are investigating the first such MERS incident in the country.

Saudi Arabia has been a breeding ground for MERS for the last two years. Reports confirmed that the MERS coV had infected health care workers in at least four medical centers in Spring 2013.

Since then, MERS has emerged in the U.S., Europe and Asia. A Columbia University MERS expert, Dr. W. Ian Lipkin said in an online report, "Given the inter-connectedness of our world, there's no such thing as 'it stays over there and it can't come here."

So far statistics claim 400 people have developed the respiratory illness, while 100 people have succumbed to the disease. All those who had symptoms had some connection to the Middle East region.

MERS is a member of the coronavirus family, which includes the common cold and SARS, (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). SARS was attributed for causing approximately 800 deaths worldwide in 2003.

The MERS virus has been found in camels, but officials don't know how it is spreading to humans. "This indicates transmission between animals and man. The process is referred to as zoonosis. With this knowledge we can specifically react to the spread of the virus. Vaccinations of camels are currently being discussed. We will thus be able to halt the spread of the virus," said Virologists Norbert Nowotny and Jolanta Kolodziejek at the Institute of Virology, Vienna .

The uptick in MERS in Saudi might be because surveillance has increased. But other experts say that virus circulation in the spring is higher because it is the season for camel births.

The Associated Press reported that there has been no restriction about traveling to countries linked to the outbreak. However, the symptoms for MERS should be kept in mind - fever, cough or shortness of breath. Those who have developed symptoms after traveling to the Arabian Peninsula are advised to consult their physician.

While the virus is believed to have its origin in the camel which carries several sub-strains and the human MERS strain, experts are looking at how humans are infected through the animal, similar to the theory of Chimps infected with the HIV virus in Africa.

With Reports From The Associated Press, Science News.