SWITZERLAND/SAUDI ARABIA: WHO to hold emergency meeting on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
Record ID:
189468
SWITZERLAND/SAUDI ARABIA: WHO to hold emergency meeting on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
- Title: SWITZERLAND/SAUDI ARABIA: WHO to hold emergency meeting on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
- Date: 12th May 2014
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MAY 12, 2014) (REUTERS) WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) HEADQUARTERS IN GENEVA LOGO FOR WHO ON BUILDING VARIOUS OF STATUE AT HEADQUARTERS FLAGS WHO FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SPOKESMAN TARIK JASAREVIC SAYING: "The recent surge in number of cases that we have seen in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as some cases that have been exported to other countries, raised public concern and raised questions whether the virus has changed in any way and this is what members of emergency committee will be looking into tomorrow." PERSON WALKING IN WHO HEADQUARTERS FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SPOKESMAN TARIK JASAREVIC SAYING: "We had a team of experts that visited a couple of weeks ago Saudi Arabia, looking into why this latest surge and whether there was any specific change in the transmissibility of the viruses so we expect tomorrow an emergency committee to review the situation in affected countries, also have a look into a report from WHO expert team that visited Saudi Arabia and basically advise director general on next steps." FLAGS OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS INTERIOR OF WHO HEADQUARTERS RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (APRIL 28, 2014) (REUTERS) CAMEL MERCHANTS AUCTIONING BABY CAMEL AT JANADRIYAH CAMEL MARKET AUCTIONEER ANNOUNCING PRICE OF 17,100 SAUDI RIYAL CUSTOMER CHECKING BABY CAMEL VARIOUS OF CAMELS AT THE AUCTION
- Embargoed: 27th May 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA605WEN3DLL2OHE291VICJLWGI
- Story Text: The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold an emergency meeting on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the organisation said on Monday (May 12).
The meeting will take place on Tuesday in Geneva, where the WHO is based, it said.
First reported two years ago in Saudi Arabia, MERS is a coronavirus like SARS, which originated in animals and killed around 800 people worldwide after first appearing in China in 2002. There is no vaccine or anti-viral treatment against it.
"The recent surge in number of cases that we have seen in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as some cases that have been exported to other countries, raised public concern and raised questions whether the virus has changed in any way and this is what members of emergency committee will be looking into tomorrow," World Health Organisation spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
More than a quarter of the 480 currently diagnosed with MERS in Saudi Arabia, the focal point of the outbreak since identified two years ago, have died, while cases have been reported in other Middle Eastern countries, in Europe and in the United States, which had its first confirmed case last month.
MERS causes fever, pneumonia and kidney failure in some cases.
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.
"We had a team of experts that visited a couple of weeks ago Saudi Arabia, looking into why this latest surge and whether there was any specific change in the transmissibility of the viruses so we expect tomorrow an emergency committee to review the situation in affected countries, also have a look into a report from WHO expert team that visited Saudi Arabia and basically advise director general on next steps," Jasarevic said.
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 thousands of dollars.
Last week, WHO 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.
Public disquiet in Saudi Arabia has grown amid rumours on social media sites about a lack of transparency from officials about the spread of the disease. The recent upsurge in reported cases is also of wider concern, not least because of the influx of visitors from around the world expected in July during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and again during the annual Haj pilgrimage in October. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None