Two sick U.S. hospital workers test negative for MERS virus

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO (Reuters) – Two U.S. hospital workers who fell ill after contact with a patient suffering from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have tested negative for the often-deadly virus, a Florida health official said on Wednesday. U.S. health officials had recently confirmed the country’s first two cases of MERS, raising fears about the global spread of the virus, which has been responsible for a worsening outbreak in Saudi Arabia. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that while its concern over MERS had significantly increased, the disease does not yet pose a global health emergency.