Check it's not MERS, WHO tells world's health workers
Medics everywhere: be on the alert for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), the disease that emerged last September in Saudi Arabia.
It is caused by a coronavirus related to the one that causes SARS, which infected over 8000 people in 2003.
“All countries in the world need to ensure that their healthcare workers are aware of the virus and the disease it can cause, and that when unexplained cases of pneumonia are identified, MERS should be considered,” said the World Health Organization in a statement on Monday, following a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As of last Friday, 55 cases had been confirmed, 31 of which were fatal. Most of the cases were in four Middle Eastern countries, with 40 in Saudi Arabia itself. But infected travellers have spread the disease elsewhere, hence the WHO’s warning.
Although the route of infection remains unknown, the first case of person-to-person transmission occurred in France in April.
It is caused by a coronavirus related to the one that causes SARS, which infected over 8000 people in 2003.
“All countries in the world need to ensure that their healthcare workers are aware of the virus and the disease it can cause, and that when unexplained cases of pneumonia are identified, MERS should be considered,” said the World Health Organization in a statement on Monday, following a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As of last Friday, 55 cases had been confirmed, 31 of which were fatal. Most of the cases were in four Middle Eastern countries, with 40 in Saudi Arabia itself. But infected travellers have spread the disease elsewhere, hence the WHO’s warning.
Although the route of infection remains unknown, the first case of person-to-person transmission occurred in France in April.
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