ProMED Comments on WHO Emergency Committee assessment

WHO Statement (excerpt):

Based on these views and the currently available information, the Director-General accepted the Committee's assessment that the current MERS-CoV situation is serious and of great concern, but does not constitute a PHEIC at this time.

ProMED
excerpt: (comments after WHO statement)
[The above is the official statement of the WHO IHR Emergency Committee that was convened to assess the global risks of MERS-CoV. At present, the Committee felt that "with the information now available, and using a risk-assessment approach, the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not at present been met." The term Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is defined in the IHR (2005) as "an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response." This definition implies a situation that: is serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected State's national border; and may require immediate international action. (see http://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/pheic/en/ for a description of PHEIC procedures).

For the HealthMap/ProMED map of the Middle East Region where all cases to date have a direct or indirect link, see http://healthmap.org/r/1HAJ. - Mod.MPP]

http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20130717.1830415