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Expert scotches rumour that dates can spread Mers

The rumour that Saudi dates could cause infection surfaced recently on social media and through SMS have reportedly made people wary of the fruit, especially during the holy month of Ramadan when all Muslims break their fast with dates. Saudi dates are hugely consumed in the UAE as well.

A senior infection control consultant and Hospital Epidemiologist Dr Mohammed Halwani said that the rumour was based on a claim which stated that bats were seen in palm trees. “This rumour is entirely untrue. The coronavirus is usually associated with respiratory tract infection in humans,” said Dr Halwani who is a member of the Arab Hygiene Council and is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

However, there are more than 19 types of bats in Saudi Arabia so you cannot identify which type is to be blamed. In addition, vegetarian bats usually feed on fruits and not dates. “Washing the dates before eating them is a hygienic standard practice that should be performed by everyone regardless of whether bats were seen in the palm trees or not.”

With 40 deaths in Saudi Arabia and other regional countries and over 80 positive cases of MERS, the World Health Organisation and Saudi Arabia have requested that the elderly avoid this year’s Haj pilgrimage.

“This request was made to minimise exposure of elderly people who usually suffer from chronic diseases, which make them more susceptible to the disease which could dominate their body if they were infected,” said the doctor.

“Wearing masks while in crowded areas is highly recommended as an important precautionary measure. This should be done in combination with recommended hand hygiene. Hence, carrying a hand sanitiser is also highly recommended to decontaminate hands directly after handling or touching items or surfaces that have been exposed to the general public.”

Dr Halwani said it was not sure yet that the virus could turn into a pandemic. “So far, we haven’t determined an answer although every precaution is recommended when dealing with infectious diseases. “However, from the available data and based on the transmissibility of the virus in the positive cases recorded, this is unlikely to happen. According to the recent report that was released by the Pasture Institute in France, ability of the virus to infect others is not more than 0.69 which means that a positive case can only infect one person after direct and long exposure. This was not the case with SARS where one positive case could infect four people allowing the SARS pandemic to take place.”

Also, he said the inner composition of the virus is close to being identified by the US Centre for Disease Control research virology lab and this will help a lot in the full identification of the virus’s nature and survival.

“The current data we have so far clearly address direct exposure with a positive patient as a main way of acquisition. Although there is still information needed to understand the complete ring of transmission, people should not worry much at this stage. Basic precautions such as wearing masks in crowded places and hand hygiene application after touching times and areas in public places are very effective methods of protection.”

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com