Click to Translate to English Click to Translate to French  Click to Translate to Spanish  Click to Translate to German  Click to Translate to Italian  Click to Translate to Japanese  Click to Translate to Chinese Simplified  Click to Translate to Korean  Click to Translate to Arabic  Click to Translate to Russian  Click to Translate to Portuguese  Click to Translate to Myanmar (Burmese)

PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL
123456
Forum Home Forum Home > Main Forums > Latest News
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - WHO confirms 6 addtional MERS cases in KSA ,UAE
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk

WHO confirms 6 addtional MERS cases in KSA ,UAE
 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
LOPPER View Drop Down
Guest Group
Guest Group
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: WHO confirms 6 addtional MERS cases in KSA ,UAE
    Posted: July 18 2013 at 11:23am

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - update

18 July 2013 - WHO has been informed of six additional laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Of these, two cases have been reported from Saudi Arabia and four from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Both the cases in Saudi Arabia have mild symptoms and are not hospitalized. They are from Asir region. The first case is a 26-year-old man who is a close contact with a previously laboratory-confirmed case and the second case is a 42-year-old woman who is a health care worker.

In the UAE, the four cases are health care workers from two hospitals in Abu Dhabi who took care of an earlier laboratory-confirmed patient. Of these, two cases, a 28-year-old man and 30-year-old woman, did not develop symptoms of illness. The other two cases, both women of 30 and 40 years old, had mild upper respiratory symptoms and are in stable condition.

  http://www.who.int/csr/don/2013_07_18/en/index. - http://www.who.int/csr/don/2013_07_18/en/index.html
Back to Top
Kyle View Drop Down
Adviser Group
Adviser Group


Joined: May 29 2013
Location: Colorado, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 5800 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kyle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 12:18pm
Seems to be that there is an increase in a asymptomatic cases. I immagine those without symptoms aren't being quarantined?? If that is the truth there could be more cases without symptoms as health care workers are constantly going around from patient to patient.
Back to Top
LOPPER View Drop Down
Guest Group
Guest Group
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 1:49pm
Originally posted by Kyle Kyle wrote:

Seems to be that there is an increase in a asymptomatic cases. I immagine those without symptoms aren't being quarantined?? If that is the truth there could be more cases without symptoms as health care workers are constantly going around from patient to patient.
 
Yeah that's what I have noticed also. There may well be quite a few more asymptomatic cases that are not counted and that additionally may be spreading the virus unknowingly. That's my take anyway.
Back to Top
Pixie View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: June 05 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 19668 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pixie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 1:57pm
WHO  spoke to soon

"The WHO is drawing up advice on travel in relation to coronavirus, to be issued in coming days."


Six new MERS coronavirus cases reported in UAE, Saudi

  • Like
  • Dislike
Reuters 
54 minutes agoHealthSaudi Arabia

GENEVA (Reuters) - Health authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have reported six new cases of the SARS-like coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

The latest infections of four women and two men aged between 26 and 42 bring the global total to 88 cases, including 45 deaths, the United Nations agency said in a statement.

Five of the six new cases were health workers and the other was a man who came in close contact with someone who had been infected with the disease, which is known as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, WHO said.

Millions are expected to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in October for the haj pilgrimage. Saudi authorities have cut the number of visas this year, citing safety concerns over expansion work at the main mosque site.

The WHO is drawing up advice on travel in relation to coronavirus, to be issued in coming days.

It urged health care providers to be vigilant for severe acute respiratory infections and test any recent travelers from the Middle East suffering from such infections for MERS.

The global health body has set up an emergency committee of independent experts on MERS, who said on Wednesday it was not a "public health emergency of international concern" for the time being.

The committee can make recommendations on travel and trade restrictions, increased disease surveillance and exchange of data.

Two of the new coronavirus cases in Abu Dhabi and both cases in Saudi Arabia displayed mild symptoms. The other two in Abu Dhabi had no symptoms of the disease.

Cases have also been found in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Britain, France, Italy and Germany.

(Reporting
Back to Top
Kyle View Drop Down
Adviser Group
Adviser Group


Joined: May 29 2013
Location: Colorado, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 5800 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kyle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 2:14pm
I guess some good news is there hasn't been more deaths recorded but that could change very quick. Maybe it's evolving to become more easily transmissible but less deadly??
Back to Top
LOPPER View Drop Down
Guest Group
Guest Group
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 2:37pm
That's a distinct possibility. But with the MERS case fatality rate at 56%, even a 2/3 reduction in the fatality rate leaves you with a 19% fatality rate. If it becomes widespread due to asymptomatic and light cases then that case fatality rate would eventually rise as the health care system gets overwhelmed and the level of care available degrades if in fact the virus did become more prolific and less virulent.
 
 
Back to Top
arirish View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: June 19 2013
Location: Arkansas
Status: Offline
Points: 39215 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 2:47pm
I read an article not long ago that said there are some 5 million guest workers in KSA and thousands of them go home for Ramadan. Most of them are from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Most of these countries are over crowded and have poor health care systems. Hope WHO hasn't waited too long!
Buy more ammo!
Back to Top
LOPPER View Drop Down
Guest Group
Guest Group
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 3:28pm
And how many countries out of all those countries you mentioned have multiple flights into the US on a daily basis?  Asymptomatic cases and all.
Back to Top
cobber View Drop Down
Guest Group
Guest Group
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cobber Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 7:25pm
Viewing the WHO report from Keiji Fukuda yesterday it seem clear that Saudi Arabia is taking MERS very seriously. I believe they are more aggressive on the topic and seem to be putting more efforts into testing than any other country. This makes sense since they have the most cases. In saying this i believe even they are still under reporting/discovering cases.

I would love to see someone run pandemic simulation software with just the Saudi cases. Excluding other countries could give a differing result. Does anyone have access to this software or know people who can run test or maybe make comment about this. (It would also pay to mess with some fudge numbers based around under reporting asymptomatic cases.) 

The reason for this, is i suspect many other countries are not reporting asymptomatic MERS cases effectively. This maybe a combination of problems such that were eluded to by Keiji yesterday. Disorganized with testing, cant get the correct serum, maybe don't understand the level of threat, under funded medical systems etc etc.

Gotta say. I was quite shocked at the amateur nature of the WHO's press conference. They were using some crappy room with crappy cheap desks.  They used poor filming. the whole thing reeked of cheap and nasty. They didn't look like the organisation which held the worlds life in its hands..

I don't really have a lot of faith in the WHO. They seem to be under funded and disorganized. I actually think this MERS virus is moving too fast for them to get a handle on it. I believe yesterdays talk was a fence sitting operation just to buy them time.


The following should be the canary down the coal mine. It is for me anyway:  as stated above

Five of the six new cases were health workers and the other was a man who came in close contact with someone who had been infected with the disease, which is known as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, WHO said

It really strikes me as odd that five of the six cases were health care workers. Yes they are coming into close contact with sick people so they would be more likely to contract the illness. The thing is these cases were either mild or asymptomatic. How many other friends and family members have had minor cases and just go unreported. It seems to me that finding many health care workers getting sick with mild cases but not finding proportionately the same amount of general public who have also had close contact with the sick rings alarm bells!

My suggestion is this virus has vastly many more asymptomatic cases which really tips the scales into Pandemic territory!
Back to Top
EdwinSm, View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: April 03 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 24065 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2013 at 10:14pm
Two more serious cases (ie in ICU) announced by the Saudi Ministry of Health:

18 July 2013
The first case is for a 41-old-year Saudi male in Riyadh. The second case is for a 59-year-old Saudi female in Al-Ahsa governorate. Both cases are at the ICU receiving the proper treatment.

http://www.moh.gov.sa/en/HealthAwareness/Corona/PressReleases/Pages/MediaStatment-2013-07-18-001.aspx
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down