Saudi Arabia Issues Deadly Mers Warning and Tells All People Handling Camels to Wear Face Masks and Gloves

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: First such warning as cases of virus reach 500 and amid fears it could spread further afield

Saudi Arabia has issued a rare public health warning to anyone handling camels as the country struggles to contain cases of a potentially deadly respiratory virus.

More than a quarter of those diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) have died, and as well as around 500 cases in the kingdom it has also spread to Europe and the US – where the first case was confirmed last month.

Health experts have warned that camels are the most likely animal source for the infection, which currently only rarely transfers from person to person.

The kingdom’s agriculture ministry issued a statement via the official Saudi Press Agency today which advised people to “exercise caution and follow preventive measures” when dealing with the animals, the first time it has done so in the time since Mers was first reported two years ago.

The country has a special association with camels based on its historically nomadic culture, and has reportedly largely avoided the issue of a link between Mers and the animals despite extensive research overseas. » | Adam Withnall | Sunday, May 11, 2014

MERS Outbreak: Q & A

There is growing concern about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): What is it? Am I at risk? What are the symptoms?

Read the Telegraph article here | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Saturday, May 03, 2014

MERS Virus Arrives in U.S. from Middle East

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Two years after it first cropped up in the Middle East, a potentially fatal respiratory illness arrived in the United States aboard a jetliner that landed at O'Hare International Airport 10 days ago.

The news that Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS — a virus that by one estimate has killed roughly a quarter of the relatively small number of patients confirmed to be infected by it — is on U.S. soil quickly triggered investigations by federal and state health authorities. (+ video) » | Juan Perez Jr., Tribune reporter | Saturday, May 03, 2014

MERS virus spreads to US via Britain »

Inside Story: Should We Be Worried About the MERS Virus?

Health officials on alert as cases rise in Saudi Arabia and threaten to spread across region.

Saudi Arabia: Eight More Deaths Due to MERS

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The latest cases bring to 102 the number of people who have died after contracting the disease

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry said on Sunday that eight more people have died after contracting a lethal Middle East virus related to SARS as the kingdom grapples with a rising number of infections.

The ministry reported the deaths in a statement on its website late in the evening. It said it had detected a total of 16 cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

The latest cases bring to 102 the number of people who have died after contracting the disease in Saudi Arabia since September 2012. A total of 339 cases have been recorded to date in the kingdom, which has been the site of the bulk of confirmed infections. » | AP | Edited by Bonnie Malkin | Monday, April 28, 2014

Arabie Saoudite : le coronavirus tue à nouveau

SAPHIR NEWS: Le ministère saoudien de la Santé a annoncé, mercredi 29 janvier, la mort d'un homme atteint du coronavirus MERS. Ce Saoudien était âgé de 60 ans et souffrait de plusieurs maladies chroniques, ont précisé les autorités.

Il s’agit du 59e décès en Arabie Saoudite liés à ce virus. D'autres cas ont été enregistrés dans le pays, a ajouté le ministère sans préciser leur nombre. Dans le monde, le royaume est le foyer le plus touché par ce virus nommé Syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS), qui a fait son apparition dans la région en avril 2012. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | mercredi 29 janvier 2014

Hajj Authorities Vigilant Over Virus Scare

Health authorities are on alert for anyone suffering from MERS which has already claimed 52 lives in the Kingdom.

Two Die of Mers Virus in Saudi ahead of Hajj

Mecca's Grand Mosque

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two more Saudi Arabian citizens have died after contracting the Mers virus, the authorities announced, just days before an estimate two million people are expected to travel to the country for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The two men, aged 78 and 55, had also suffered from other chronic diseases, the Saudi ministry of health said on its website. But their deaths, which take the total number of victims to 58 worldwide, will do little to assuage fears that the huge gathering could increase the spread of the disease. The vast majority of cases of Mers have been in Saudi Arabia.

Last year a total of 3.2 million faithful, including 1.75 million foreigners, performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest site. Those from abroad came from 190 countries. Riyadh expects fewer people this year for the event, which runs from Sunday until October 18, because it has reduced the quotas from each country by 20 per cent in response to building work currently taking place in Mecca.

Between 20,000 and 25,000 Britons are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. » | Harriet Alexander | Thursday, October 10, 2013

Arabie : un nouveau décès dû au coronavirus

leJDD.fr: Un Saoudien atteint du coronavirus est décédé, portant à 41 le nombre de morts liés à ce virus en Arabie saoudite, a indiqué dimanche le ministère de la Santé, en évoquant par ailleurs deux nouveaux cas dans le sud-ouest du royaume. » | dimanche 25 août 2013

Hajj Pilgrims to Wear Masks to Prevent Spread of Mers Virus

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia has issued a series of rules to pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the Hajj that will ban the elderly and force others to wear respiratory masks to prevent the Mers coronavirus turning into an epidemic.

Health ministry regulations for the piligrimage are the strictest in history as the government seeks to contain the spread of the new SARS-like condition which has affected 85 and killed 41.

Almost all those who have contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) have been in Saudi Arabia or had contact with people who contracted it there. The first recorded Mers death was in June last year in Saudi Arabia.

Tens of millions of Muslims from around the world are expected to take part in the Hajj this October. The emergence of the mysterious virus ahead of the pilgrimage has been described as the single biggest worldwide public health since the deadly Sars pandemic. Read on and comment » | Damien McElroy | Saturday, July 13, 2013

Santé: Pèlerinage de la Mecque: préoccupation à cause du Coronavirus

lePARISIEN.fr: Les experts virologistes surveillent avec inquiétude l'énigmatique et dangereux coronavirus MERS dans la perspective du prochain pèlerinage de la Mecque, alors que l'Arabie Saoudite est le pays le plus touché par la maladie.

On sait peu de chose de ce coronavirus du syndrome respiratoire du Moyen Orient, baptisé MERS par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, qui a fait l'objet cette semaine d'une réunion d'experts de haut niveau à Genève dans le cadre d'une Conférence sur la prévention et le contrôle des infections.

Il provoque des problèmes respiratoires, la pneumonie et une insuffisance rénale rapide. Il peut être transmis de l'homme à l'homme mais ne semble pas très contagieux, contrairement à son cousin le SRAS (syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère) qui avait fait plus de 800 morts il y a une dizaine d'années. » | AFP | samedi 29 juin 2013