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

Saudi Arabia’s IHR National Contact Point from 1 to 29 February 2020 reported 18 additional cases of MERS-CoV infection, including five related deaths. Cases have been reported from Riyadh (seven cases), Hafer Albatin (two cases), Najran (two cases), Eastern (two cases), Aljouf (one case), Mecca (one case), Haila (one case), Taifa (one case) and the Jeddah region (one case). Among the reported cases of MERS-CoV infection, the majority (16 cases) were men and only two cases were women. The ages of reported cases ranged from 34 to 81 years. No cases were reported among healthcare professionals.

The link below contains details of 18 reported cases.

From 2012 to February 29, 2020, the total number of MERS-CoV confirmation cases of MERS-CoV infection recorded globally by WHO was 2538 with 871 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 people (for example, in 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 appears to cause more severe disease in people with diabetes, renal failure, chronic lung disease, and people with impaired impairment. Therefore, these people should avoid close contact with animals, especially dromedaries, 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 cooked properly.

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.