Nuevo brote del Síndrome Respiratorio del Medio Oriente.

Should we be worried about the MERS virus?
Health officials on alert as cases rise in Saudi Arabia and threaten to spread across region.
Inside Story Last updated: 29 Apr 2014 04:08


Saudi Arabia has announced more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The rise in patients - more than 100 in the last two weeks - worries medical authorities in the kingdom and around the world.

Egypt on Saturday announced its first case of MERS. The patient had recently returned from Riyadh.

MERS was first reported in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus, which killed about 800 people worldwide after first appearing in China in 2002. MERS can cause fever and pneumonia, and can lead to death.

The World Health Organisation is monitoring the rise in MERS cases in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh says it has invited five leading vaccine makers to help combat the virus.

So, how much of a threat is MERS?

Presenter: Mike Hanna

Guests:

Mohammed Al Hajri - manager of Health Protection & Communicable Diseases at the Supreme Council of Health

Dr Daniel Lucey, adjunct professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center

Dr Ben Neuman, a virologist at the University of Reading who's studied coronaviruses for 17 years

Foreign man dies of deadly coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, as neighbouring Yemen reports its first case of the disease.
Last updated: 13 Apr 2014 10:13


There have been 212 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 88 have proved fatal [Reuters]

A foreigner has died from the deadly MERS coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, while Yemen has reported its first case of the disease.

The foreign man, whose nationality has not been disclosed, died from the coronavirus as eight others in the kingdom, including five health workers in the city of Jeddah, were infected.

The death brings the nationwide toll in the world's most-affected country to 68, with 189 people infected.

The Saudi health ministry, which announced the death, said five health workers - two women and three men - and three other people had been infected by MERS in Jeddah.

The announcement came days after panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff led to the closure of the emergency room at the city's main public hospital.

Saudi health minister Abdullah al-Rabiah visited hospitals in Jeddah on Saturday in a bid to calm residents.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Yemen, a Yemeni man became the first victim of the disease, which had first appeared in Saudi Arabia in September, 2012.

"Medical personnel have recorded one case of the coronavirus in Sanaa and the victim is a Yemeni man who works as an aeronautics engineer," the semi-official al-Thawra newspaper quoted Public Health Minister Ahmed al-Ansi as saying.

"The ministry is working in effective cooperation with the World Health Organisation to confront this virus and is in direct and constant communication with all hospitals to receive information on any other suspected cases," Ansi said.

The ministry is working in effective cooperation with the World Health Organisation to confront this virus

Yemen Public Health Minister, Ahmed al-Ansi

Deadly virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday said that it had been told of 212 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 88 were fatal.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

A study has said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

The UAE news agency WAM said on Friday an expatriate health worker had died from the virus and five others had been infected in the Gulf state. This followed Saudi reports last week of two deaths and nine other cases of infection in the kingdom, including among hospital staff.

Total number of victims in the kingdom since September 2012 reaches 83, with most new cases in Riyadh and Jeddah.
Last updated: 24 Apr 2014 14:13

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Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine [AFP]

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry says two more patients who became infected with MERS have died, and that 13 others have contracted the virus.

The ministry said on Thursday that the new cases from MERS, or the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, were reported in the capital of Riyadh, as well as in the western city of Jiddah and the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, according to AP news agency.

The deaths bring to 83 the number of people who have died in the kingdom since the virus surfaced in September 2012.

Saudi Arabia has recorded a total of 285 confirmed cases.

Most of the latest cases are in Riyadh and the commercial hub Jeddah, but cases have also been reported in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, visited each year by millions of pilgrims from around the world.

The jump in MERS cases and public fears prompted Saudi Arabia to dismiss its health minister, Abdullah al-Rabiah, on Monday without an official explanation, according to AFP news agency.

Rabiah last week visited hospitals in Jeddah to calm a public hit by panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff that prompted the temporary closure of the city's King Fahd Hospital emergency room.

Adel Fakieh, labour minister, who has taken over as acting health minister, said on Twitter late on Tuesday that he had visited the Jeddah hospital.

Fakieh promised "transparency and to promptly provide the media and society with the information needed" on the virus.

At least four doctors at King Fahd Hospital reportedly resigned last week after refusing to treat MERS patients.

The virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

A recent study said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and it may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

The World Health Organisation said on April 20 that it had been informed of 250 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 93 had been fatal.

WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office said it has offered to help Saudi Arabia and the UAE investigate the current outbreaks "in order to determine the transmission chain of this recent cluster".
Source:
Agencies

Saudi Arabia says MERS virus cases top 300
Five more people die of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, as 14 more cases are discovered, bringing total number to 313.
Last updated: 25 Apr 2014 23:15

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Most cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, but there have also been cases in Europe and North Africa [EPA]

Saudi Arabia said it had discovered 14 more cases of the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the kingdom, bringing the total number to 313.

A health ministry statement on Friday said the new cases had been reported in the capital Riyadh, the coastal city of Jeddah and in Mecca in the past 24 hours.

Authorities had also registered five more deaths due to the virus, it said.

The jump in cases is of particular concern because Saudi Arabia will host pilgrims from around the world in July during the Muslim month of Ramadan, as well as in early October when millions of worshippers perform the annual Haj.

In total, 92 people have died of MERS in Saudi Arabia, the ministry said on its website.

Saudi Arabia has witnessed a jump in the rate of infection in recent weeks, with many of the new cases recorded in Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest city.

A large proportion of the people infected are healthcare workers.

MERS emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus, which killed around 800 people worldwide after first appearing in China in 2002.

MERS can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia.

Although the number of MERS infections worldwide is fairly small, the more than 40 percent death rate among confirmed cases and the spread of the virus beyond the Middle East is keeping scientists and public health officials on alert.

A spokesman for the World Health Organisation in Geneva said on Friday it was "concerned" about the rising MERS numbers in Saudi Arabia.

"This just highlights the need to learn more about the virus, about the transmission, and about the route of infection," he said.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah replaced the health minister last week after growing public concern about the spread of the disease.

Saudi authorities say they have invited five leading international vaccine makers to collaborate with them in developing a MERS vaccine, but virology experts argue that this makes little sense in public health terms.
Source:
Reuters
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First case of coronavirus that has killed 92 people in Saudi Arabia detected in the Egyptian capital.
Last updated: 26 Apr 2014 13:03


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The MERS virus has killed at least 92 people in Saudi Arabia [Reuters]

Egypt has recorded its first case of the deadly SARS-like MERS coronavirus in the capital Cairo.

Egyptian State TV said on Saturday a patient at a Cairo hospital who recently arrived from Saudi Arabia had tested positive for the virus.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus has killed at least 92 people in Saudi Arabia, where the coronavirus was first detected in humans in 2012.

The virus which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to Europe and has been reported in Malaysia.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

A study has said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.
Source:
AFP

Riyadh announces eight new deaths from coronavirus, bringing total fatalities since its discovery in 2012 to 102.
Last updated: 27 Apr 2014 20:05

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The number of recorded infections of the MERS coronavirus in the kingdom has risen 339 [AFP]

Saudi Arabia has announced eight new deaths from the MERS coronavirus, taking the kingdom's death toll from the disease since it was discovered in 2012 to 102.

The Saudi health ministry reported that a nine-month-old infant had died on Sunday, raising this month's fatalities to 39.

The ministry said the number of recorded infections had risen to 339, with 143 cases announced since the start of April, representing a 73 percent jump in total infections.

Among the latest infections were four medical staff at a single hospital in Tabuk in the country's northwest.

Panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff in the western city of Jeddah led to the temporary closure of a main hospital's emergency room.

At least four doctors at Jeddah's King Fahd Hospital resigned earlier this month after refusing to treat MERS patients for fear of infection.

The kingdom dismissed the health minister earlier this month with the newly appointed acting health minister promising "transparency" over MERS.

King Abdullah is said to have travelled to Jeddah on Thursday to reassure the public and demonstrate that "exaggerated and false rumours" about MERS are false, said his son, National Guard Minister Prince Mitab.

Experts are still struggling to understand the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, for which there is no known vaccine.

The World Health Organisation announced on Wednesday that it had offered to send international experts to Saudi Arabia to investigate "any evolving risk" associated with the transmission pattern of the virus.

A recent study said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and it may have been passed from the animals to humans and now evolved.

It is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.
Source:
AFP