Fort Rucker Flu: MERS-CoV "SARS" Outbreak - Alabama

At least 2 dead, and a cluster of people hospitalized near Fort Rucker, Alabama, in what we suspect is an outbreak of the SARS like MERS-CoV  FLU. The obvious source vector of such an outbreak in Lower Alabama would be from soldiers deployed to the Middle East out of Fort Rucker, Alabama.
We base our analysis on:

1. The index patient's illness date of approximately April 19th 2013
2. The patient's extreme proximity to Fort Rucker
3. Fort Rucker's Middle East Deployments
4. The symptoms
5. The epidemiological presentation, likely large outbreak with minimal severe hospitalizations

Our initial risk mitigation position on this outbreak is that the risk is low but the impact is high; hence only low cost mitigation efforts are required. In that regard, the best mitigation is Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG).

CHG is a surgical scrub which forms an invisible barrier on the skin and kills the influenza virus and corona (SARS) virus for multiple HOURS after washing with it.


Medical Chlorhexidine Gluconate




Veterinary Chlorhexidine Gluconate