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Mideast nations must watch out for killer virus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon regional countries to enhance surveillance for the Sars-like killer virus as an international report concluded that the deadly strain could have originated in the UAE and Qatar.
A report published in the Lancet medical journal recently said that a 73-year-old man from Abu Dhabi died on March 26 from a similar strain of the virus as a Doha man treated in Germany six months previously. It also said that the two unlinked cases showed a clustering of viruses derived from Qatar and the UAE.
It is the world’s first detailed analysis of a victim of the virus now known as Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which has killed at least 38 people worldwide, mostly in Saudi Arabia and infected 68 others.
The report gave day by day details of the condition of the patient and said he died of toxic shock 18 days into treatment in a German hospital and four days after his kidneys failed.
The UAE health ministry was not available for comment though in a statement issued last month it said that there were no cases reported in the country. It had also said that there was no need for panic as it was closely monitoring the situation and taking the necessary precautions to guarantee public safety.
In a meeting held in Cairo on June 22, the WHO asked regional countries, including the UAE, to strengthen their abilities to control, detect and treat cases of the virus on an urgent basis.
“At the moment we have an important window where cases have still been relatively few and human transmission is relatively limited,” added Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Security and the Environment.
“We need to exploit this chance to agree and implement the best public health measures possible across the board for, in so doing, we stand the best chance of controlling this virus before it spreads further.”
It was agreed that countries would take action in seven key areas including surveillance, mass gatherings preparation, clinical management of cases, laboratory diagnostics, infection control, communications, and International Health Regulation reporting.
The WHO also said that that every country should urgently investigate any cluster of pneumonia with unusual clinical presentations, or any immune-compromised patient or healthcare worker with any unusual sign of acute respiratory infection.
The French Health ministry said it is also investigating the death of a French tourist who was diagnosed with the virus after returning from Dubai. asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
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