Sunday, June 30, 2013

WHO revises MERS-CoV surveillance advice

CIDRAP
Robert Roos and Lisa Schnirring | Staff Writers | CIDRAP News | Jun 28, 2013 
excerpt:

Meanwhile, in a Lancet commentary today, two experts called for a similar approach in the absence of conclusive data on MERS-CoV transmission pathways and risks. The piece was written by Charles D. Gomersall, BSc, MBBS, and Gavin M. Joynt, MD, both of whom are affiliated with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Queensland School of Medicine in Brisbane.

They base their observations on a recent Lancet report on two MERS-CoV cases in France, involving a man who fell ill after traveling in the Middle East and another man who contracted the illness after sharing a hospital room with him.

The authors note that none of 100 healthcare workers exposed to the first patient get sick, nor did any of 40 community contacts of the second patient. However, they also observe that in the UK, a person who had no other exposures caught the virus while visiting a confirmed case-patient in a hospital for 2½ hours.

"In the absence of conclusive data it would be prudent to isolate individuals suspected of having MERS-CoV infection and to follow guidelines for prevention of airborne transmission," say Gomersall and Joynt.


http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/06/who-revises-mers-cov-surveillance-advice

hat-tip PFI: http://singtomeohmuse.com/viewtopic.php?p=353131&sid=7d68d30f2d4eb9db3527e8576d832565#353131

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