Most of the people who've caught the virus have been in the
Middle East. But there have been cases reported in the United
Kingdom as well. One of the U.K. patients had traveled to Saudi
Arabia. Upon return, he infected two other family members. "Once
it gets you, it's a very serious infection," said Dr. William
Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in Nashville. Fortunately, he added,
the virus is "very difficult to acquire." While the SARS
epidemic was going on, many of those caring for patients were
infected too. The fact that this hasn't been seen with these
cases so far is a good sign, Schaffer said. It's suspected that,
like SARS, the virus originated in animals. A study published in
November found that genetically, the new coronavirus was most
closely related to viruses found in bats. While no cases have
popped up in the United States, doctors say they won't be
shocked if it did.