MALAYSIA MERS-CoV: Ministry to monitor those who returned
with deceased umrah pilgrim 
Sunday April 20, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will continue to monitor the group that returned from Mecca with a 54-year-old man dying of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) last week.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said they would be under observation for the next two weeks although they had all tested negative for the deadly SARS-like virus.
“We are looking at those who were in close contact with the deceased, which is the group he travelled with and his family,” he told reporters yesterday.
The victim, who was from Batu Pahat, returned to Malaysia on March 29 after performing the umrah.
He was admitted to hospital for three days following complaints of fever, cough and breathing difficulties. He died on April 13.
On reports that the virus might have been transmitted from the camels at the farms in the Middle East, Dr Subramaniam said there were theories over this, but these had yet to be proven.
On its website, the World Health Organisation said the Malaysian, who had “underlying health conditions”, had visited a camel farm on March 26 during his trip and had consumed camel’s milk.
“This is the first case with MERS-CoV infection in the country,” it said.
“The Health Ministry reported that so far no human-to-human transmission has been observed amongst close contacts and in health-care facilities in Malaysia.”
Dr Subramaniam said airports would continue to scan the body temperature of all those entering the country.
“Ever since the SARS outbreak, we have put in place a scanner to check the body temperature of all visitors at our airports,” he said.
However, Dr Subramaniam said in the case of the Malaysian man, his symptoms started about 10 days after returning from Mecca.
He urged travellers to the Middle East to maintain good hygiene, wear masks at high-risk areas and not to visit animal farms. He said they should also not consume raw or unclean food and water.
He advised those who developed respiratory complications with fever, cough, cold and throat infections to cover their mouth and nose, and seek medical attention immediately.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement, said there had not been any positive samples of MERS-CoV among the 31 taken from the “close contacts” of the deceased.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Natio...umrah-pilgrim/
MERS-camel link confirmed
Friday 18 April 2014
A Saudi expert on infectious diseases on Thursday reaffirmed the link between the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and camels after research proved that the viruses isolated from a Saudi patient and his camel were 100 percent similar.
“We have succeeded in isolating the coronavirus and proving the role of camels in transmitting this deadly virus to humans,” said Dr. Tariq Ahmed Madani of the King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah.
Speaking with Arab News, he said the discovery proves that camels are the prime reservoir that allowed the coronavirus to infect and kill humans. “This does not mean camels are the only source,” he said. “This important discovery will help combat and contain the disease,” said Madani, who obtained a fellowship in infectious diseases from the University of Manitoba in Canada.
A total of 72 people have died from MERS out of 212 infected cases in Saudi Arabia.
A 72-year-old Saudi woman died from among seven patients who were diagnosed with the MERS in Jeddah on Thursday. The other six patients include two Saudi men, aged 60 and 70, who are currently being treated at the ICU of a local hospital, while a 54-year-old doctor, a 31-year-old female expat and two Saudi women, aged 40 and 60, have also been diagnosed with the disease and are reported to be in stable condition.
“A total of 187 blood samples from suspected patients were tested at a Jeddah laboratory on Thursday, of which only seven tested positive for the virus,” according to an official.
Madani, meanwhile, emphasized the need to enlighten the public on the disease, especially residents dealing with camels.
He said a research paper on the discovery of the virus would be published in a specialized scientific magazine soon. “This advanced scientific discovery reflects the progress achieved by Saudi Arabia in the medical field,” Madani said.
Research on the topic began in November 2013, when a 44-year-old Saudi who was suffering from pneumonia was admitted to the university hospital. He died after 15 days later after his body failed to respond positively to customary treatment.
“We isolated him and succeeded in determining his genetic sequence. A specialized medical team then isolated the same virus from one of the camels owned by the patient,” said Madani.
“We found antibodies for the virus in a herd of nine camels owned by the patient and discovered that these antibodies appeared before the patient was infected. As a result, we were able to prove for the first time that camels are one of the carriers of the virus to humans,” he said.
Patients contract MERS either by direct contact with an infected patient, especially through droplets while speaking, sneezing or coughing, or touching the belongings or objects touched by an infected person.
“It can also spread through direct contact with infected camels,” he said. “Infected camels could show symptoms similar to those manifested by humans.”
“Most reported MERS cases in the world spread from human to human and they had no direct contact with infected camels,” Dr. Madani said.
“There is no proof so far to suggest that drinking the milk of an infected camel can cause the disease,” he said. “Nevertheless, it is advisable to only drink camel milk, or any other type of milk for that matter, after boiling to kill disease-causing germs, including Maltese fever, found in the Najd and Hijaz regions.”
Madani said that the King Fahd Research Center at the university has not yet conducted any research to find a cure for the disease due to lack of human and material resources.
“No report of MERS-related death among camels has been reported so far,” he said.
In Jeddah, authorities are stepping up efforts to contain the deadly virus.
“A total of 44 cases tested positive for the virus in Jeddah from among seven hospitals,” said the official. “Around 2,500 blood samples were tested for the virus in the Western Province.”
The National Scientific Committee for Infectious Diseases (NSCID) has organized field visits in Jeddah to acquire first-hand information about the virus in the wake of the sudden increase in the number of cases.
The Ministry of Health has extended an invitation to the World Health Organization to send experts to evaluate the prevalence of the coronavirus in Jeddah and in other parts of the Kingdom.
According to the health official, the Health Ministry is on 24-hour alert to monitor the virus both within and outside the Kingdom.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/557396 
