The test results from a patient suspected of having Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) were recently confirmed to be negative. Infections have mainly been seen in the Middle East, South Korea, Europe and the United States. This medical advancement is notable because there is no vaccine or effective treatment for the MERS virus, which is clearly able to transmit from human to human. “I think DNA-priming is something that can help durability of an immune response, but I am not entirely confident that a DNA vaccine on its own will induce optimal levels of neutralizing antibodies”, he said.
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Saudi Arabia reported 14 new MERS-CoV illnesses, along with 4 more deaths, over the past 3 days, with all but 1 of the infections linked to an ongoing hospital-related outbreak in Riyadh. MERS is a viral respiratory virus that causes fever and coughing.
Khalid Al-Mirghalani the ministry’s spokesman said the Central Command Center (CCC) has intensified preventive measures by organizing awareness programs among the public and hospital staff to prevent the virus from spreading.
He explained that the WHO worldwide Health Regulations Committee maintains that MERS isn’t a public health emergency of global concern.
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The minister reaffirmed his confidence in the health sector in overcoming the cases of the spread of MERS-CoV virus being witnessed in Riyadh region and the probable appearance of cases in more than one hospital. Millions of Islamic pilgrims from all around the world visit the country each year. Of that number, 588 people have recovered and 25 cases are still being treated, in addition to four domestically quarantined cases. Partners and collaborators include MedImmune, Roche, University of Pennsylvania, DARPA, GeneOne Life Science, Drexel University, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, and University of Manitoba.
