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| Image Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The World Health Organisation has advised health care
workers to be on the alert for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The
disease emerged in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and is caused by a Coronavirus related
to the one that causes SARS.
So far, 55 cases had been confirmed, 31 of which were fatal.
Most of the cases were in four Middle Eastern countries, 40 occurring in Saudi
Arabia. The WHO urged all countries in the Middle East to urgently intensify
their surveillance efforts for infection by the virus.
International concerns about these infections are high,
because it is possible for this virus to move around the world. There have been
several examples where the virus has moved from one country to another through
travelers.
Large gaps in our knowledge about this virus remain and the route
of infection remains unknown, though the first case of person-to-person
transmission occurred in France in April.
“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 Organisation following a summit in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia.
Currently, the diagnosis of MERS relies heavily on clinical
awareness combined with confirmatory testing for the presence of the causative
agent by the polymerase chain reaction.
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