MERS coronavirus status discussed by WHO panel

The World Health Organization's emergency committee of experts is reviewing the outbreak of MERS coronavirus to assess its pandemic potential and the need for measures like travel restrictions.

The UN health agency's panel of international experts looking into Middle East coronavirus held its first meeting by teleconference on Tuesday. The group is advising WHO on whether the outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern.

Since April 2012, 80 laboratory confirmed cases of human infections with MERS coronavirus have been reported to WHO, including 45 deaths. Of the cases, 65 occurred in Saudi Arabia.

"While it is clear that human-to-human transmission does occur, it is not clear whether transmission is sustained in the community," WHO said on its website.

Sustained human-to-human transmission is one of the defining features of a pandemic.

Under the International Health Regions, the declaration of a pandemic means a virus is spreading from person to person in a sustained manner in at least two regions. The declaration acts as a signal to governments to spend more on containing the virus.

Affected countries include Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Tunisia. All the European and North African cases have had a direct or indirect connection to the Middle East, according to WHO.

Representatives from all nine countries made presentations by video link, said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl.

"Our expectation is that there will not be a decision today," Hartl told Reuters.

Limited transmission among close contacts who had not been to the Middle East has occurred in France, Italy, Tunisia and UK, WHO said. Close contacts include family members, co-workers, fellow patients and healthcare workers.

More information could also help governments advising people travelling to Saudi Arabia for hajj pilgrimage in October as well as the year-round umrah pilgrimages. Umrah is likely to be more crowed during the Ramadan fast, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website.

There are currently no travel restrictions related to MERS from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which recommends general travel advice. In June, WHO experts advised countries at risk from MERS to plan for mass gatherings. The UN health agency issues similar recommendations before major international sporting events.

Mild and asymptomatic cases that could go undetected are another concern, WHO said in its latest statement. If mild cases are going undetected then the death rate is lower than it currently seems.

Dr. Theresa Tam, head of the Public Health Agency of Canada's health security infrastructure branch, is one of the 15 members of WHO's emergency committee. Tam has worked in the fields of respiratory diseases like flu and pandemic preparedness.

People who have been infected with MERS coronavirus have experienced influenza-like illness such as coughing, mucous, shortness of breath, malaise, chest pain and fever. Many have also had gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.

source:  www.cbc.ca

 

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