Health officials allay fears over Mers outbreak

Senior health officials yesterday reassured Qatar residents that there is ‘no outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV) in the country following the recent detection of two human cases and three camels infected with the virus on a local farm at Shahaniya. “The current situation is reassuring because since the virus was first detected here in 2012, a lot of people have come in contacts with camels and other animals but no single case among those reported had had a link to animals,” Supreme Council of Health’s Communicable Diseases Control section manager Dr Mohamed al-Hajri told a press conference.The Mers-CoV has claimed four lives in Qatar since 2012 and the virus was also suspected in a total of 4,323 persons, whose samples were checked at the Hamad Medical Corporation’s Virology laboratory, explained SCH Surveillance and Outbreak section head Dr Hamad Eid al-Romaihi.“It was the first time in Qatar that camels were linked to Mers-CoV infections and no new cases have so far been reported because we conducted a comprehensive epidemiological investigation into potential sources of exposure of human cases involved, with the support of an international team constituted by World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO),” he said.He mentioned that the two men, an expatriate and a national, were closely followed throughout their treatment to ensure that they did not infect others.“People need not panic as it is only established that camels can be a host of the virus that is already identified as an animal disease, but we are yet to verify whether it is being transmitted from humans to animals or from animals to humans,” Dr al-Hajri said while recalling that a case linking the disease with bats was diagnosed in Saudi Arabia.Qatar has plans to get kits from international laboratories for testing the animals for the virus. Presently, the tests can only be done in a lab in The Netherlands.Dr al-Romaihi said that the SCH was working with international centres to test additional samples from other animal species and from the environment of the affected barn. “In addition, the Public Health Department and the Ministry of Environment’s Animal Resources Department are conducting further studies at the national level to investigate the infection risk among individuals in close contact with animals,” he mentioned.Dr al-Romaihi also hoped that a vaccine against the virus would be available in the near future.“The WHO has recommended keeping good personal hygiene, avoiding close contact with infected people or animals and proper hand washing as necessary precautions against the virus,” he said.He added that people at high risk of severe disease due to Mers-CoV should avoid close contact with animals when visiting farms or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating. “For the general public, when visiting a farm or a barn, general hygiene measures, such as regular hand washing before and after touching animals, avoiding contact with sick animals, and following food hygiene practices, should be adhered to,” he noted.To a question whether people should avoid camel’s milk or flesh for now, he said: “It is highly recommended that people should drink only pasturised milk and eat only well-cooked meat in order to remain safe and secure from contracting the virus.”