After Ebola and swine flu, threat of new virus MERS-CoV puts India on high alert

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, June 10, 2015: After swine flu and Ebola, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) is the new global threat that has put many Asian countries, including India, on high alert.

 

With the Ramadan arriving and several pilgrims slated to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory to airports and general public to be alert about the deadly disease.

The Health Ministry has asked all the airlines, including chartered flights, operating to and from Saudi Arabia and other MERS-CoV-affected countries to make an in-flight announcement regarding the disease.

MERS-CoV is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Typical symptoms of MERS are fever, cough, shortness of breath and pneumonia.

Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported in certain cases. As no treatment is available for the disease, approximately 36 per cent of the reported patients with MERS have died.

According to the World Health Organisation, the route of transmission from animals to humans is not fully understood, but camels are likely to be a major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and a source of infection among the humans.

Strains of MERS-CoV that are identical to human strains have been isolated from camels in several countries, including Egypt, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The ministry has recommended that all travellers who have fever, cough, respiratory discomfort or distress should report at the immigration or medical unit on arrival.

"The virus can spread from person to person through close contact, so pilgrims living and travelling in close quarters may be at risk, even though the risk is considered very low," said a senior health ministry official. "Travellers have been advised that even after returning to India, for 14 days they should continue to be on the lookout for symptoms of MERS-CoV and report to the designated health facility for treatment," the official said.

The Centre is concerned about the spread of the virus at global level in hospitals and has asked for better surveillance. "In several countries, transmission of the virus has occurred in hospitals, including from patients to doctors and between patients, even before MERS-CoV was diagnosed. It is not always possible to identify patients with MERS-CoV at an early stage or without testing," said Dr Iype Joseph, Research Scientist at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology.

"In the current hot spots for MERS-CoV, a sizeable portion of the population is from other countries. But many of these countries have yet to detect any importation of MERS-CoV. To assess the transmission of disease in these countries, supplemental surveillance strategies are urgently needed beyond the currently recommended measures," he said.

According to the WHO, till date globally 1,244 MERS cases have been reported with at least 446 deaths.

 

Courtesy: Indiatoday