New Delhi:
The Saudi Ministry of Health informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of three human cases, including one death, of the deadly and highly contagious Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus between April 10 and 17.
All three cases involved men from Riyadh, aged between 56 and 60, with underlying health conditions, and were not health workers, the WHO said in its bulletin.
The three cases are epidemiologically linked to exposures at a healthcare facility in Riyadh, although investigations are ongoing to verify this and understand the route of transmission, the WHO said. A total of four cases and two deaths have been reported from Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year. The reporting of these cases does not change the WHO's overall risk assessment, which remains moderate at both global and regional levels.
MERS is a viral respiratory infection caused by the MERS coronavirus (CoV). About 36 percent of patients with MERS have died, although this may be an overestimate of the true mortality rate as mild cases of MERS-CoV can be missed by existing surveillance systems and the mortality rate is calculated from laboratory data only. confirmed cases, the WHO said.
Humans become infected with MERS-CoV through direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels, which are the natural host and zoonotic source of the virus. MERS-CoV has demonstrated the ability to transmit between humans.
To date, unsustainable human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts and in healthcare settings. Outside of healthcare, there has been limited human-to-human transmission so far, the WHO said.
There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment available, although several MERS-CoV-specific vaccines and therapies are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient's clinical condition and symptoms.
Since the first reported case of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia in 2012 until April 2024, a total of 2,204 human cases and 860 deaths have been reported. In total, a total of 2,613 MERS-CoV cases and 941 deaths have been reported from 27 countries, across all six WHO regions.
There was one major outbreak outside the Middle East, in South Korea, in May 2015. This was characterized as a healthcare-associated infection, resulting in 186 laboratory-confirmed cases (185 in South Korea and 1 in China) and 38 deaths. have been reported; However, the index case (first patient) in that outbreak had a travel history to the Middle East, the WHO said.