Published Date: 2013-06-11
Archive Number: 20130611.1766279
MERS-COV - EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (24): SAUDI ARABIA
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A ProMED-mail post
In this report:
[1] Saudi Arabia: new death, MOH
[2] Saudi Arabia/WHO joint mission - Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO)
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[1] Saudi Arabia, new death - MOH
Date: Mon 10 Jun 2013
Source: Ministry of Public Health, Saudi Arabia [edited]
http://www.moh.gov.sa/en/HealthAwareness/Corona/PressReleases/Pages/MediaStatement-2013-06-10-002.aspx
Within
the framework of the epidemiological surveillance of the novel
coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced that a
Saudi citizen, who had been previously announced to be infected with
coronavirus in Al-Ahsa Governorate, passed away and he had been
suffering from chronic kidney failure and other chronic diseases.
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[This
now raises the global total of laboratory confirmed deaths attributable
to MERS-CoV infection to 32, 26 of which have occurred in Saudi Arabia.
For the map of Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries where MERS-CoV infection has been documented, see http://healthmap.org/r/1HAJ. For a map showing the locations of MERS-CoV cases within Saudi Arabia, see http://www.moh.gov.sa/en/HealthAwareness/Corona/Pages/AboutCorona.aspx. - Mod.MPP]
******
[2] Saudi Arabia/WHO joint mission - Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO)
Date: Mon 10 Jun 2013
Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) press release [edited]
http://www.emro.who.int/press-releases/2013/corona-virus-who-saudi-arabia-mission.html
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: Joint Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/WHO mission
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Between
[4 and 9 Jun 2013], a joint mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) met in Riyadh to assess
the situation due to a new coronavirus in the Kingdom. This virus has
recently been named the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV). It is a new, emerging virus that is distantly related to the
virus that caused SARS.
The 1st documented cases of MERS
occurred in Jordan in early 2012. Globally, to date [10 Jun 2013] there
has been a total of 55 cases confirmed by laboratory testing. Of these,
40 have occurred in KSA, and the rest have been reported from other
countries in the Middle East (Qatar and the United Arab Emirates), from
Tunisia in North Africa, and from France, Germany, Italy, and the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Europe.
The
overall number of cases is limited, but the virus causes death in about
60 per cent of patients. So far, about 75 per cent of the cases in KSA
have been in men and most have occurred in people with one or more major
chronic conditions.
There appear to be 3 main epidemiological patterns:
-
In the 1st pattern, sporadic cases occur in communities. At present, we
do not know the source or how these people became infected.
- In
the 2nd pattern, clusters of infections occur in families. In most of
these clusters, there appears to be person-to-person transmission, but
it seems that this transmission is limited to people who are in close
contact with a sick family member.
- The 3rd pattern comprises
clusters of infections in health care facilities. Such events have been
reported in France, Jordan, and KSA. In these clusters, the sequence
seems to be that an infected person is admitted to hospital where that
person then transmits the virus to other people in the health care
facility.
Two important points need to be stressed:
- First,
there is no evidence of widespread person-to-person transmission of
MERS-CoV. Where it has been suspected that the virus has been
transmitted from person to person, it appears that there had been close
contact between somebody who was sick and another person: a family
member, a fellow patient, or a health care worker.
- Second, many
fewer infections with MERS-CoV have been reported in health care
workers in KSA than might have been expected on the basis of the
previous experience of SARS. During the SARS epidemic, health care
workers were at high risk of infection. The MERS-CoV is different from
the SARS virus. Although the reason why fewer health care workers have
been infected with MERS-CoV is not clear, it could be that improvements
in infection control that were made after the outbreak of SARS have made
a significant difference. In this context, infection control measures
in KSA appear to be effective.
Currently, the diagnosis of
MERS-CoV relies heavily on clinical awareness combined with confirmatory
testing for the presence of MERS-CoV by the polymerase chain reaction.
No bedside test exists.
Treatment is primarily supportive and
there are no convincing data that the use of potent antiviral agents,
such as ribavirin and interferon, brings any benefit. The use of
steroids in high doses should be avoided.
The joint mission
reviewed the response in KSA, and concluded that the country has done an
excellent job in investigating and controlling the outbreaks. Once the
1st cases were identified in 2012, several steps were taken, including
the following:
- Measures, including infection control measures, were introduced to stop hospital outbreaks;
- surveillance for MERS-CoV cases was significantly increased;
- awareness campaigns to alert and educate the public were started;
- cases of MERS-CoV were reported to WHO;
-
epidemiological investigations were initiated to identify the sources
of infection, risk factors, and routes of transmission; and
- international experts were invited to help.
At
this point, the right prevention and control measures have been
applied, and the KSA Government is to be congratulated for urgently
taking crucial actions.
Some final points must be stressed:
-
First, large gaps in our knowledge about this virus remain. Although
extensive work has been done and is ongoing, it should be remembered
that it often takes time for scientific investigations to produce
results.
- Second, international concern about these infections
is high, because it is possible for this virus to move around the world.
There have been now several examples where the virus has moved from one
country to another through travellers.
- Consequently, all
countries in the world need to ensure that their health care workers are
aware of the virus and the disease it can cause and that when
unexplained cases of pneumonia are identified, MERS-CoV should be
considered. If cases of MERS-CoV are found, they should be reported to
WHO under the terms of the International Health Regulations (2005).
-
So far, all cases of community acquired MERS-CoV infection have been
seen in the countries of the Middle East. All countries in this region
should urgently intensify their surveillance efforts for infection by
MERS-CoV.
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka
[As of 10 Jun 2013, there have been 55 laboratory confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection, including 32 deaths.
The
joint KSA/WHO mission assessing and reviewing the information base and
response to cases of MERS is presented in [2] above. One of the most
important statements in this report is: "Consequently, all countries in
the world need to ensure that their health care workers are aware of the
virus and the disease it can cause and that when unexplained cases of
pneumonia are identified, MERS-CoV should be considered. If cases of
MERS-CoV are found, they should be reported to WHO under the terms of
the International Health Regulations (2005)." While there is earlier
mention of the need to think of a link to the Middle East, this
statement is a stand alone paragraph, and suggests the need to always
consider the MERS-CoV when confronting unexplained cases of pneumonia, a
subtle change from earlier statements to consider MERS-CoV if there is a
documented connection to the Middle East. A welcome change in the
surveillance strategy. - Mod.MPP]
http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20130611.1766279
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