Another Filipina nurse in Saudi Arabia has been placed in isolation for suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) infection.
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The health representatives have been urged to develop capacity and enhance skills of departments and officials involved in fight against deadly communicable diseases like Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Including the recent spate, the Kingdom’s health ministry has recorded 502 fatalities and 1,171 reported cases since June 2012 when the virus first appeared, reports Agence France-Presse.
Authorities have clearly stated that they are anxious about this virus because more than 2 million Muslims are coming to Saudi Arabia next month to perform Hajj.
Mers is caused by a type of coronavirus. “An unusually high number of MERS-CoV cases are males with a median age of 50 years old, who have multiple chronic conditions”, Charis Royal, an ASU researcher, said.
WHO also stated that more than 515 people have died so far due to this virus all over the world since its appearance for the first time in September, 2012.
At least 46 people including hospital staff had contracted the disease at one of the capital’s largest hospitals, following which health authorities shut down the emergency ward there. SARS killed hundreds of people in China in 2003.
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MERS can cause symptoms such as fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure in its victims. There are no approved vaccines against MERS, which is believed to originate in camels.
