SAUDI ARABIA: Saudis unwilling to believe camels are reservoir of deadly MERS disease

Record ID: 189453

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudis unwilling to believe camels are reservoir of deadly MERS disease
  • Date: 29th April 2014
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (APRIL 28 ,2014) (REUTERS) CAMEL MERCHANTS AUCTIONING BABY CAMEL AT JANADRIYAH CAMEL MARKET AUCTIONEER ANNOUNCING PRICE OF 17100 SAUDI RIYAL CUSTOMER CHECKING BABY CAMEL CUSTOMER AT AUCTION CUSTOMER MAKING HIGHER BID CUSTOMER PAYING SUM AUCTIONEER ANNOUNCING WINNER MAN TAKING THE CAMEL OUT OF PICKUP TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CAMEL TRADER, SALMAN AL-RASHEED, SAYING: "If it was agreed that coronavirus exists in camels, then we are in the danger zone, as if we are playing with fire. But this is not true, we are now in the camel market between camels which come from the eastern and southern regions and other areas. In all the camels gathered here at the auction, sick and healthy camels, we have never witnessed the coronavirus, there is nothing." VARIOUS OF CAMELS AT THE AUCTION EXTERIOR OF BUTCHER'S SHOP SUDANESE BUTCHER, ALI BILAL, STANDING IN SHOP BEHIND SIGN READING (Arabic): "LOCAL CAMEL MEAT" VARIOUS OF BILAL SHOWING FRESH CAMEL MEAT IN REFRIGERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SUDANESE BUTCHER, ALI BILAL, SAYING: "We sell camel meat, we have a lot of customers. Suddenly we lost 50% of our customers. When I asked a customer why they were not buying camel meat, they said: 'There is some virus found in the camel meat.'" EXTERIOR OF VETERINARY PHARMACY NEAR THE CAMEL AUCTION VETERINARY MEDICATION ON SHELVES IN PHARMACY VARIOUS OF MEDICATION WITH CAMEL ON PACKAGING VETERINARY DOCTOR EHAB AL-SHABOURI SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VETERINARY DOCTOR, EHAB AL-SHABOURI, SAYING: "Everything is normal. If it were risky, or there were any problems, we would have received an alert or brochures or we would have witnessed cases infected with coronavirus. But there is nothing." SHABOURI WITH CUSTOMER VARIOUS OF CUSTOMER BUYING MEDICATION CUSTOMERS LEAVING VETERINARY PHARMACY
  • Embargoed: 14th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Business,Environment,Health,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVAA5O6U0GIJGSW0K3AVDTAAJ34
  • Story Text: The 40-odd men gathered in a sandy, dung-scattered auction pen at one of Saudi Arabia's largest camel markets were fiercely dismissive of of a link scientists have found between the animals and a deadly new disease.
    Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has infected 339 people in the conservative Islamic kingdom since it was identified two years ago, causing fever, pneumonia and kidney failure in some, and killing around a third of sufferers.
    Although many patients in a recent outbreak in Jeddah appear to have caught the disease in hospitals, MERS has been found in bats and camels, and many experts say the latter form the most likely animal reservoir from which humans are becoming infected.
    Camels occupy a special place in Saudi society, providing a link to an important but vanishing nomadic tradition and valued at prices that can climb to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
    Last week the World Health Organisation advised people at most risk of severe disease to avoid contact with camels and take precautions when visiting places where the animals are present, and to avoid drinking raw milk.
    But among the pungent animal pens in Riyadh's camel market, stretching several miles along a highway out of the city, the traders, owners and camel workers said they had been given no advice, information or warnings on MERS by government officials.
    "If it was agreed that coronavirus exists in camels, then we are in the danger zone, as if we are playing with fire. But this is not true, we are now in the camel market between camels which come from the eastern and southern regions and other areas. In all the camels gathered here at the auction, sick and healthy camels, we have never witnessed the coronavirus, there is nothing," camel trader Salman al-Rasheed said.
    Camel flesh is displayed in the meat section of most Saudi supermarkets alongside cuts of New Zealand lamb and Irish beef, while the milk is usually drunk fresh and unpasteurised, and prized as a healthful panacea.
    But butcher Ali Bilal says that despite the confidence of camel traders, customers were beginning to feel wary of buying camel meat.
    "Suddenly we lost 50% of our customers. When I asked a customer why they were not buying camel meat, they said: 'There is some virus found in the camel meat," he said.
    Ehab el-Shabouri, an Egyptian veterinary doctor in one of the many practices stretching along a nearby road that cater to the camel owners, said he was not aware MERS had been found in the animals. He said the Agriculture Ministry would have taken measures if there was a risk.
    "We would have received an alert or brochures or we would have witnessed cases infected with coronavirus. But there is nothing," he said.
    While the link is the subject of extensive debate and study among scientists outside Saudi Arabia, however, it has been noticeably absent from much of the official debate inside the kingdom.
    A spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry said all questions about MERS should be directed to the Health Ministry and would not comment on the existence of the virus among camels.
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