Coronavirus Respiratory Syndrome in the Middle East (MERS-CoV) – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s IHR National Contact Center from December 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020 reported 19 additional cases of MERS-CoV infection, including 8 related deaths. Cases have been reported from the Aseer area (7 cases), Riyadh (6 cases), Al-Qassima (2 cases), Eastern (2 cases), Madina (1 case) and Aljoufa (1 case). An outbreak of a hospital in the Aseer region was reported in January 2020, with a group of 6 cases. Three cases were healthcare professionals, two were patients and one was a visitor. One case of this cluster died on February 4, 2020.

The link below has details of 19 reported cases:

From 2012 to January 31, 2020, the total number of MERS-CoV confirmation cases of MERS-CoV infection recorded globally by WHO was 2519 with 866 associated deaths. The global number reflects the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases reported to the WHO under International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to date. The total number of deaths includes deaths of which WHO is aware to date through the monitoring of affected Member States.

WHO risk assessment

Infection with MERS-CoV can cause serious illness resulting in high mortality. Humans are infected with MERS-CoV through direct or indirect contact with dromedaries. MERS-CoV demonstrated the ability to transmit between humans. Until now, the observed unsupervised human-to-human transmission has taken place mainly in healthcare facilities.

Notification of additional cases does not change the overall risk assessment. WHO expects additional MERS-CoV infection cases to be reported from the Middle East and that cases will continue to be exported to other countries by individuals who may become infected after exposure to dromedary, animal products (for example, by consuming camel raw milk) or humans (for example, at a healthcare facility).

WHO continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and conduct risk assessments based on the latest available information.

Tip of WHO

Based on the current situation and the information available, WHO encourages all Member States to continue monitoring acute respiratory infections and to carefully review any unusual patterns.

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures are key to preventing the possible spread of MERS-CoV in healthcare settings. It is not always possible to identify patients with MERS-CoV infection early because, like other respiratory infections, the early symptoms of MERS-CoV infection are not specific. Therefore, healthcare professionals should always apply standard precautions consistently to all patients, regardless of diagnosis. Capital measures should be added to standard precautions for the care of patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection; contact precautions and eye protection should be added when caution is likely or confirmed in MERS-CoV infection; air precautions should be taken when performing aerosol generation processes.

Early identification, case management and isolation, together with appropriate infection control and suppression measures, can prevent the transmission of MERS-CoV from person to person.

MERS-CoV causes more serious illnesses in people with underlying chronic medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, chronic lung disease, and compromised immune systems. Therefore, people with these basic medical conditions should avoid close unprotected contact with animals, especially dromedary camels, when visiting farms, markets or stalls where the virus is known to circulate. General hygiene measures should be observed, such as washing hands regularly before and after touching animals and avoiding contact with diseased animals.

Food hygiene practices should be followed. People should avoid drinking raw camel milk or camel’s urine or eating meat that is not properly cooked.

WHO does not advise special entry point review with respect to this event, nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.