The MERS Virus Thread

Yeah, the plan was to get her here for the birth, but she missed that by 3 weeks now...

And then we do a return visit end of the year...

Just put up a hand sanitizer near my cubicle, using it when needed and encouraging visitors to do the same... Better safe than sorry... And rather be called the germ-o-phobic SAfrican than get it...

I used to have a Google Reader feed on a virologist studying MERS, but looks like it did not transfer to Feedly...
 
SAUDI ARABIA REPORTS 1 MORE DEATH FROM MERS VIRUS

Saudi Arabia's health ministry says one more patient who contracted the potentially fatal Middle East virus related to SARS has died and that 14 new cases have been detected.

The ministry said on its website Sunday that a Saudi man in his 70s died in Riyadh. It says this brings to 112 the number of deaths from the virus in the kingdom since September 2012.

The new 14 cases raise the number of those infected in Saudi Arabia to 411. Five of the new cases were detected in Riyadh, five in Jiddah and four in Mecca - three women and a 14-year-old boy.

MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which caused some 800 deaths globally in 2003.


Source : Sapa-AP /avb
Date : 05 May 2014 09:06
 
SAUDI MERS DEATH TOLL REACHES 115: MINISTRY

Saudi health authorities announced on Monday that the death toll from the MERS coronavirus has reached 115 since the respiratory disease first appeared in the kingdom in 2012.

Three people died on Saturday after contracting MERS in the commercial capital Jeddah -- a 45-year-old man and two women, aged 50 and 54, the health ministry said on its website.

It said a 77-year-old man had also died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Riyadh on Friday.

The country's number of MERS infections has meanwhile risen to 414, the world's highest tally, the ministry reported.

American health officials on Friday confirmed the first case of MERS in the United States, a health care provider who had travelled to Riyadh for work.

Last week, Egypt recorded its first infection after a person who had arrived from Saudi Arabia tested positive.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some research has suggested that camels are a likely source of the virus.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 05 May 2014 13:29
 
JORDANIAN DIES OF MERS VIRUS: MINISTRY

A man has died in Jordan after being infected with the MERS virus, a media report said Tuesday, in the kingdom's second fatality from the disease this year and fourth since 2012.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Jordan reported the first death from MERS in February, after two fatalities in 2012.

"The new death from the coronavirus was one of those infected with the virus who was 56 years old who was suffering from anaemia and pneumonia, and who had been hospitalised," health ministry official Mohammad Abdallat was quoted as saying by state news agency Petra.

MERS emerged in 2012 and is mostly focused on Saudi Arabia, where it has killed 115 people, according to health officials there.

Saudi Arabia's number of MERS infections has also reached 414, the world's highest tally, the ministry reported.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some research has suggested that camels are a likely source of the virus.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 06 May 2014 17:57
 
4 NEW MERS DEATHS, 18 MORE INFECTIONS IN SAUDI

Saudi Arabia has announced four more deaths from the MERS coronavirus and 18 new infections, as it battles to contain the mystery disease which has now killed 121 people in the kingdom.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) after a five-day mission to Jeddah pinpointed breaches in its "recommended infection prevention and control measures" as being partly responsible for an increase in infections in the Red Sea city.

The disease, which first appeared in the kingdom in September 2012, has now infected a total number 449 Saudis, accounting for the bulk of cases registered across the globe.

Two of the latest deaths reported late on Wednesday -- of a 65-year-old woman suffering from several illnesses and a 45-year-old woman --occurred in the capital Riyadh. Both died on Tuesday.

In Jeddah, the commercial capital, a 70-year-old woman died on Monday and a 60-year-old man died on Tuesday, the health authorities said.

Among the 18 people newly infected is a 10-year-old boy who was taken to a government hospital in Jeddah following an accident on April 29.

After he was discharged from the hospital on May 2, MERS symptoms began to appear and he was rushed to intensive care.

Saudi Arabia's acting health minister Adel Fakieh announced Tuesday the sacking of the head of Jeddah's King Fahd Hospital where a spike in MERS infections among medical staff sparked panic among the public.

The WHO said the recent increase in numbers of infections does not suggest a "significant change in the transmissibility of the virus".

"The majority of human-to-human infections occurred in health care facilities," it said, adding that "one quarter of all cases have been health care workers".

The team urged health care workers to improve their "knowledge and attitudes" about the disease.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some researchers think it may originate in camels.

Fakieh on Wednesday announced an awareness campaign to help stop the disease's spread, urging people not only to follow strict measures of hygiene, but specifically to avoid sick camels and refrain from eating raw camel meat or drinking unboiled camel milk.


Source : Sapa-AFP /ge
Date : 08 May 2014 09:56
 
Fakieh on Wednesday announced an awareness campaign to help stop the disease's spread, urging people not only to follow strict measures of hygiene, but specifically to avoid sick camels and refrain from eating raw camel meat or drinking unboiled camel milk.
Click to expand...
WTF raw camel meat?
 
SAUDI MERS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 126

Saudi Arabia's death toll from MERS has risen by five to 126 fatalities since the mystery respiratory virus first appeared in the kingdom in 2012, the health ministry said Friday.

Two men, aged 47 and 60, died in the western city of Medina on Wednesday, an 84-year-old man died in Mecca and a fourth died in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

All three cities are closely associated with the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage, with commercial capital Jeddah being the main point of entry for pilgrims from overseas.

The fifth person to die was a woman, who succumbed in the capital Riyadh, the ministry's website reported.

It added that the total number of infections from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Gulf nation was now 463.

MERS cases have also been reported in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and even the United States, with most involving people who had travelled to Saudi Arabia or worked there, often as medical staff.

The great majority of deaths from the virus have been in Saudi Arabia, however.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Like SARS, MERS appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering from a temperature, coughing and breathing difficulties.

But it differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.

Research has suggested that camels are the likely source of the virus.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 09 May 2014 09:37
 
LEBANON RECORDS FIRST CASE OF MERS VIRUS

Lebanon's Health Ministry says it has recorded the country's first case of the Middle East respiratory virus.

It says the potentially fatal virus was detected in a man who had checked into a local hospital after feeling ill. It says the man's case was not severe, and he has since been discharged.

A ministry official said Friday the patient had recently returned from a visit to several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom has been the focal point of the outbreak of the virus, known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

MERS belongs to a family of viruses that include both the common cold and SARS, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003. It can cause symptoms including fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.


Source : Sapa-AP /kd
Date : 09 May 2014 09:08
 
JORDAN REPORTS NEW MERS DEATH

A man has died in Jordan after being infected with the MERS virus, the government said Monday, on the eve of a World Health Organisation emergency meeting on the disease.

The latest death brings to five the number of fatalities in Jordan from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus since it first emerged in 2012.

The man, in his 50s, worked in a private hospital and died on Sunday, the health ministry said.

The announcement came after Saudi Arabia on Sunday reported that three new deaths from MERS had taken its death toll from the disease to 142.

MERS has now infected 483 people in the Gulf kingdom since it first appeared in 2012, accounting for the vast majority of the 496 cases registered worldwide.

It is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003, infecting 8,273 people and killing nearly 800.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature, but MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.

Although most MERS infections have been in Saudi Arabia, cases have also been recorded in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and even the United States.

Most cases outside Saudi Arabia involve people who had travelled to the kingdom or worked there, often as medical staff.

The UN's health agency WHO is to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the worrying spread of MERS.

"The increase in the number of cases in different countries raises a number of questions," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Friday, without elaborating.


Source : Sapa-AFP /ar
Date : 12 May 2014 10:37
 
SAUDI ANNOUNCES 5 NEW MERS DEATHS

Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday five new deaths from MERS, raising the death toll in the country worst-hit by the mysterious coronavirus to 157 since it appeared in 2012.

The health ministry also reported 16 new infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome raising the total so far to 511.

Three women, all over 60, died in Riyadh, while two men, aged 56 and 57, died in the port city of Jeddah, the ministry said on its website.

Saudi Arabia accounts for by far the largest proportion of the 571 MERS cases worldwide reported to the World Health Organisation, 171 of which have proved fatal.

MERS has also been found in 16 other countries but nearly all have among people from, or who had recently travelled to, the Gulf.

Research has identified camels as the likely original source of the virus and the Saudi agriculture ministry on Sunday urged camel handlers to wear masks and gloves.

But a growing number of infections have been among health workers or fellow patients in hospitals treating MERS cases and the WHO called on Wednesday for improved infection control.

A WHO team carried out a five-day inspection visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month and pinpointed breaches in its recommended infection prevention measures as being partly responsible for the spike in hospital infections.

A rash of cases among staff at Jeddah's King Fahd Hospital last month sparked public panic and the dismissal of its director and the health minister.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mr
Date : 14 May 2014 21:20
 
SINGAPORE TO TEST FOR FEVER IN VISITORS FROM MERS-HIT MIDDLE EAST

Asian transport hub Singapore said Thursday it will begin checking travelers from the Middle East for fever, tightening its guard against the MERS virus which has killed 157 people in Saudi Arabia.

"We intend to commence temperature screening at air checkpoints for passengers arriving from affected countries in the Middle East from 18 May 2014," the health ministry said in a statement.

Fever is a symptom of the flu-like MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, and those found with higher temperatures will be assessed further. Travellers suspected of having the virus will be sent to hospital.

The move is in line with a warning by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday for countries to bolster their defences against the virus, the ministry said.

It said no cases of the virus have been detected in the city-state so far.

While the risk of an outbreak remains low, the possibility of an imported case "cannot be ruled out given today's globalised travel patterns", the ministry added.

MERS symptoms can also include chills, cough and in serious cases, kidney failure.

Health authorities say it is transmissible mainly through close person-to-person contact and in healthcare settings.

WHO on Wednesday told countries to improve infection prevention and control, collect more data on the virus and to be more vigilant in preventing it from spreading to vulnerable countries, notably in Africa.

A total of 571 MERS cases have been reported to the WHO, of which 171 have proved fatal. In many of them, victims caught the virus in hospital from other patients, although experts believe camels may also spread the disease.

The virus, which originated in Saudi Arabia and has since spread to over a dozen countries, is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, caused economic chaos in Asia, including in Singapore, as travel ground to a halt.

Singapore, a key Asian transport and financial hub, welcomed a record 15.5 million visitors last year, up 7.2 percent from 2012.

Changi Airport also handled a record 53.7 million international passengers in 2013.


Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 15 May 2014 14:30
 
SAUDI ARABIA REPORTS FIVE NEW MERS DEATHS

Five more people have died of the MERS coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, bringing to 168 the overall death toll in the kingdom since 2012, health authorities said Sunday. The Health Ministry said 529 cases of the respiratory disease have been recorded. World Health Organization (WHO) figures show 572 confirmed cases of MERS and 173 deaths worldwide since it was first detected in Saudi Arabia. The UN body last week said that although the spread of the virus did not constitute an "international emergency," the recent sharp rise in MERS infections was a cause for serious concern. Most cases have been recorded in Gulf countries, with a small number elsewhere linked to travel in the region. MERS is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which broke out in Asia in 2003, but has a lower rate of transmission. Symptoms including fever, pneumonia and kidney failure.


Source : Sapa-dpa /mr
Date : 18 May 2014 12:27
 
US REPORTS THIRD CASE OF MERS VIRUS

An Illinois man has contracted the MERS respiratory virus after coming into contact with the first case of the mysterious Middle East pathogen in the United States, become the third infected person.

It was during an ongoing investigation on the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in the United States that officials identified the new case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.

"CDC officials explained that these laboratory test results are preliminary and suggest that the Illinois resident probably got the virus from the Indiana patient and the person's body developed antibodies to fight the virus," the agency said in a statement.

It said the Illinois resident, who has not recently traveled outside the United States, met twice with the Indiana patient before he was identified as the first known case of MERS in the United States.

As part of the investigation, health officials have tested people who came into contact with the Indiana resident.

The identities of the MERS patients have not been released.

The Illinois resident was first tested for MERS on May 5, and those test results were negative. But a blood sample tested positive on Friday, showing he has antibodies to MERS.

"This latest development does not change CDC's current recommendations to prevent the spread of MERS-CoV," said David Swerdlow, who is leading the agency's MERS response.

"It's possible that as the investigation continues, others may also test positive for MERS-CoV infection but not get sick."

The United States has previously announced two confirmed cases of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which originated in Saudi Arabia and has since spread to more than a dozen countries.

The first patient, who fell ill in April, has been discharged from a hospital in Indiana.

Symptoms of MERS can include fever, chills, cough and in serious cases, kidney failure. Health authorities say it is transmissible mainly through close person-to-person contact and in health care settings.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Saudi Arabia reported three more fatalities from the MERS respiratory virus, taking the death toll in the world's worst-hit country to 163.

The health ministry website also revealed that 520 cases have been recorded in the country since MERS first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to the desert kingdom.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 17 May 2014 23:32
 
SAUDI ANNOUNCES NEW MERS DEATH

Saudi health authorities reported Monday a new death from the MERS coronavirus, taking to 169 the overall number of fatalities from the disease in the world's worst-hit country.

The health ministry said on its website that the latest person to fall victim to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome was a 59-year-old man who died on Sunday in the western city of Taif.

It reported two new infections, one in Riyadh and the other in the commercial capital of Jeddah, raising the total number of MERS cases to 531.

Other nations including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to the desert kingdom.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 19 May 2014 09:31
 
TWO FILIPINOS DIE OF MERS VIRUS IN MIDDLE EAST: GOV'T

The Philippines said Thursday that two of its citizens working in Saudi Arabia have died from the MERS coronavirus.

Foreign Department spokesman Charles Jose said their relatives have been informed and efforts were being made to bring the bodies home.

"Our consul general in Jeddah confirmed that there were two Filipinos who died of MERS," he told AFP.

"The consulate is helping to repatriate their remains," he said, adding that the deaths were recorded on May 12 and 18.

The identities of the two, as well as other details, were not revealed to protect their relatives' privacy.

Thousands of Filipinos work in the Middle East, while it is estimated as many as 10 million work overseas to escape widespread poverty at home.

MERS or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is considered a deadlier but less transmittable cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003.

It infected more than 8,000 people, and had a fatality rate of nine percent.

Health authorities in Saudi Arabia this week reported new deaths from the MERS coronavirus, taking the death toll to 173. It has been the worst affected by the outbreak with a total of 537 people infected.

Other nations including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had recently returned from travel in the desert kingdom.

The Filipinos' deaths came as the Philippines has been stepping up its defence against the virus by screening all those coming from the Middle East at ports of entry.

Last month, it quarantined a male Filipino nurse who had tested positive for the virus.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 22 May 2014 13:20
 
Update :

More than 100 more cases and 34 deaths from the new respiratory disease Mers-coronavirus have been reported by officials in Saudi Arabia.

The cases date back to February and came to light after an analysis of hospital records.

The World Health Organization says there have now been 820 cases of Mers and 286 deaths.

The exact source of the novel infection is still uncertain, but camels are a prime suspect.

The virus is from the same family as the common cold, but can lead to kidney failure and pneumonia.

It was first detected in June 2012.

The update from the Saudi authorities said there were 113 additional cases - 76 of the patients recovered, three are still in hospital and 34 have died.

Cases have also been confirmed in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia, Egypt, the UK and the US - usually after travel to Saudi Arabia.
Click to expand...
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28044151
 
So this is what is waiting for you IF you manage to escape from Africa and the Ebola virus....
 
http://www.iol.co.za/news/why-religious-pilgrimages-are-dangerous-1.1710991#.U68RHLFPKuY

New York - The World Health Organisation is worried about this year's Hajj to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Beginning in early October, more than 2 million people will voluntarily gather in the home country of a novel and untreatable virus called MERS that has already infected nearly 700 people and killed more than 200. Respiratory illnesses are only the beginning of the many dangers faced at religious pilgrimages, though. Pilgrims should worry about fires, stampedes, diarrhoea and guns. In fact, if you're in a hurry to meet your maker, a religious pilgrimage may be the most direct route.
Click to expand...

This might be how it will spread to the rest of the world........???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X