Over 25% of recent Saudi MERS patients were health workers
Robert Roos
CIDRAP News
Jun 13, 2014
The World Health Organization (WHO) offered some new information today on 402 MERS-CoV cases reported in Saudi Arabia over the past 2 months, revealing that more than a quarter of the patients were healthcare workers, more than half of whom had mild symptoms or none at all.
In its latest MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) summary, the WHO also said the general transmission pattern hasn’t changed despite the surge of cases in April and early May. That suggests that a WHO emergency committee scheduled to meet on Jun 16 is unlikely to declare an international public health emergency.
Also today, single new MERS cases were reported in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran. The UAE case involves a butcher who had camel contact, while the Iranian patient is a nurse assistant who had contact with Iran’s first MERS patient.
The WHO today also released an update on animal-to-human transmission of MERS-CoV, reiterating that camels are a likely source of human infections and reemphasizing the need to beware of contact with the animals and their uncooked products.
Profile of 402 Saudi cases
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