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Mers no emergency, but needs tight control

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon the most affected countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, to step up national policies for infection control in healthcare facilities to counter the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV).

The call came as the WHO announced on Wednesday that though the seriousness of the situation had increased in terms of public health impact, there was no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission.

It said that the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee concluded in a five-hour long deliberation in Geneva on Tuesday that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) had not yet been met, hence no travel restrictions would be recommended as of yet.

However, the committee’s concerns centred on the recent sharp rise in cases; systemic weaknesses in infection prevention and control mainly in healthcare settings, as well as gaps in critical information; and possible exportation of cases to especially vulnerable countries.

Most affected countries, including the UAE, attended the crucial meeting via teleconference and expressed concerns but did not have a concrete say in the formulation of advice to WHO’s director-general, Dr Margeret Chan.

Since March, a spike in travel related cases have been reported worldwide including new cases in the US, Greece and Lebanon. To date, worldwide 571 lab confirmed cases have been reported to WHO that says numbers are changing rapidly.

Of these, seven travel related cases in six countries have been reported, mainly by healthcare workers who were travelling.

“The number of people infected through international travel is still small though it is striking when you see the number of countries…but such cases overall are relatively small,” said Dr Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general, WHO, during a virtual Press conference on Wednesday.

“It was a sober and critical assessment by the committee,” he said.

The WHO reiterated that it would place no travel restrictions including on the upcoming mass gatherings in Saudi Arabia — which has reported the most number of cases till date — during the Ramadan next month and the Haj.

The health body also advised countries to develop and disseminate advice regarding mass gatherings to prevent further spread. “The KSA itself has made recommendations by guidance on how to reduce the risk of getting infected. We recommend that people should be informed before they travel about potential risks of infection and when they return home from a pilgrimage or travel.”

In a reply to a question by Khaleej Times, Dr Fukuda said that keeping people informed was the single most important thing when dealing with any outbreak.

“We would encourage all of the countries in the Middle East to do that. There is no reason for not making information known to people in affected countries especially in these kind of outbreaks…It is a critical step.”

“In terms of cases being reported by the UAE, we may hear rumours and even though we also monitor media and different information sources, our numbers reflect the cases reported by the government directly to us,” he added.

The WHO also asked the countries to strengthen intersectoral collaboration and information sharing across ministries and with relevant international organisations, especially with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The committee will meet again next month.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com