MERS cases reach Far East; Saudi Arabia reports 6 more…(On The Move!!)
Robert Roos
CIDRAP News
Apr 16, 2014
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has made a long-feared leap to the Far East with cases in Malaysia and the Philippines, while the current outbreak in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has grown by six cases, according to reports today.
In Malaysia, a 54-year-old man fell ill with pneumonia caused by MERS-CoV after a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and died on Apr 13, the health ministry reported. The man flew out of Jeddah on his homeward trip.
In the Philippines, a Filipino male nurse who had been working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and had contact with another Filipino MERS patient there was found to be infected, according to media reports. Blood test results for the man, who is not sick, were released in the UAE after he flew back to the Philippines, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported one death among the six new cases in Jeddah. Two healthcare workers (HCWs) are among those infected.
In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO), following up on a Twitter post yesterday, released some information today about 10 recent cases in healthcare workers (HCWs) in the UAE. It said they were found through testing of contacts of a previous MERS case-patient in Abu Dhabi who died Apr 10. Three of the patients had no symptoms and five had only mild illnesses, the agency said.
The Rest…HERE
