PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Escalation In Mosquito-Borne Diseases Continue - Hawaii's Governor David Ige Declares STATE OF EMERGENCY To Fight Zika Virus And Dengue Fever Outbreak!

© Jim Gathany / Reuters

February 13, 2016 - HAWAII - Hawaii has declared a state of emergency in a move to fight and prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and the Zika virus, which the state’s governor called a threat to public health and welfare.

“We are doing everything we can to be prepared, to be proactive, to prevent vector-borne diseases here in Hawaii,” Gov. David Ige said in a proclamation he signed Friday.

So far, Hawaii has not seen cases of the Zika virus transmission, but it is on standby following a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to put emergency centers on a Level 1 alert last week.

But there is an ongoing outbreak of dengue fever at Big Island, where there were more than 250 confirmed cases. One of the major concerns now is that mosquitoes that can carry dengue fever also can carry the Zika virus, which potentially puts the island at risk.

There are also flights between American Samoa, one of the Pacific islands affected by a Zika outbreak, and Hawaii.

Tourists and locals watch the sunset from White Sands Beach Park in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, January 31, 2016. © Canice Leung / Reuters

“Hawaii Emergency Management Agency will be working with all the county mayors and the county civil defense coordinators to ensure that statewide we are ahead of the game and proactive in responding to vector-borne diseases,” the governor said.

The emergency proclamation means that Hawaii will have access to the Major Disaster Fund, granting it an option to acquire more funds to control outbreaks and waive certain laws and regulations if necessary.

"One of the things that this emergency declaration from the governor will allow us to do is that we can in fact enforce that we will come and take care of mosquitoes on a property that someone is refusing, because it is a public health emergency,” Virginia Pressler, director of the Department of Health said, AP reported.

In particular the authorities would be able to use insecticides on private property, regardless of an owner’s objection.

According to Pressler, understaffed due to financial problems, the state’s health regulator is now searching to hire more medical workers and scientists with the newly released funds from the governor.

Gov. Ige has said the state will begin to survey the community to verify the particular mosquito species and determine their locations. Then it will work out and implement plans for their “management, eradication and treatment,” he said. - Hawaii.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Dengue Fever Outbreak On Hawaii's Big Island - State Of Emergency Declared!

February 9, 2016 - BIG ISLAND, HAWAII - The mayor of Hawaii's Big Island declared a state of emergency on Monday to deal with a growing outbreak of dengue fever, spread by infected mosquitoes, with 250 cases confirmed over the past four months.

As a result of Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi's order people on the Big Island will be allowed to resume disposing of old tires in landfills, since tires which are left lying around are a known breeding spot for mosquitoes.

There have been 250 confirmed cases of dengue fever on the island since Oct. 29, making it the largest outbreak in the state since the 1940s, according to the mayor's declaration and Hawaii health officials.

Dengue fever causes flu-like symptoms and can develop into the deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Hawaii Governor David Ige said in a statement he supported the efforts on the Big Island but would not issue a statewide emergency declaration unless the outbreak spread to other islands or expanded to include other diseases, such as the Zika virus.

Zika is spreading rapidly in South and Central America and the Caribbean and has been linked to severe birth defects in Brazil.


WATCH: Dengue Fever Press Conference.

Last month, a baby born with brain damage at a hospital in Oahu, Hawaii, was apparently the first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in a birth on U.S. soil, health officials said.

Dengue is not endemic to Hawaii but has occasionally spread after being imported by infected travelers. The outbreak on the Big Island is the first cluster of locally-acquired dengue fever since a 2011 outbreak on Oahu, the Hawaii Department of Health said. - Yahoo.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: United Nations - MILLIONS COULD DIE From Future Global Pandemic Unless World Health Organization URGENTLY Reforms!

February 9, 2016 - HEALTH - A future global epidemic could result in millions of deaths according to a new UN report, which would be far worse than the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa. The study also urges the World Health Organization to reform in order to be ready to combat future crises.

The report, entitled “Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises,” is particularly relevant following the outbreak of the Zika virus in South and Central America. The study has been critical of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

The UN panel is urging the body to reform in order to prevent future outbreaks, which could have dire consequences, with the report stating that if a highly pathogenic influenza virus was to surface, it could “rapidly result in millions of deaths,” as well as causing “social, economic and political disruption.”

Worryingly still, the report, which has been posted online in advanced, unedited form in the UN’s Daily Journal, mentions that this is “not an unlikely scenario.”

“The high risk of major health crises is widely underestimated, and … the world’s preparedness and capacity to respond is woefully insufficient. Future epidemics could far exceed the scale and devastation of the west Africa Ebola outbreak,” the chair of the panel, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete stated.

The world’s attention is now focused on the Zika virus, which has been spreading from Brazil. Countries in the region have been caught off guard due to a lack of understanding about the disease, which has been linked to thousands of cases of brain damage in new born babies in the region.

A WHO spokeswoman told Reuters that the organization sprang into action following the outbreak of the virus, with the body working together to try and combat its effects.

She added that the WHO "is fully committed to urgently reforming our emergency work to address all emergency health risks and events in a predictable, capable, dependable, flexible and accountable manner.”

Among the recommendations from the UN panel was the need for the WHO to build a new Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, which "must have real command and control capability, access to specialized human and operational resources to execute a health response.”

The report also mentioned that there needs to be greater coordination in fighting global outbreaks and is "convinced that there is no substitute for having a single global health leader" and that "the World Health Organization should become this leader.”

Since the turn of the century, the world has witnessed a number of epidemics, which include four major outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the pandemics of H1N1 and H5N1 influenza, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The report says that these are all a “stark reminder” of the threat posed by emerging communicable diseases to humanity.

Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust charity has welcomed the moves put forward by the panel, while also stating that there is a general consensus that action needs to be taken and that organizations are learning from the mistakes that were made during the Ebola outbreak.

"Epidemic and pandemic diseases are among the greatest of all threats to human health and security, against which we have for too long done too little to prepare," he said, as cited by Reuters.

"After four inquiries into the preventable tragedy of Ebola, there is now a strong consensus about what must be done. The WHO’s leadership and member states must make 2016 the year of decision and act now." - RT.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: United States Issues Travel Advice Over Zika Virus In The Caribbean - Cautions Pregnant Women To Reconsider Travel; Virus Confirmed In Guyana, Barbados And Haiti; And Jamaica Advises Women To Delay Pregnancy Due To The Disease!

The Aedes Aegypti mosquito that transports the virus is found throughout the Caribbean region.

January 19, 2016 - CARIBBEAN - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel alert for people traveling to the Caribbean and other areas that have confirmed transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

And with the virus linked to birth defects, the CDC has advised pregnant women that out of an abundance of caution, they should consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

The Level 2 alert, which indicates that travelers are advised to practice enhanced precautions – follows reports in Brazil of microcephaly – a rare condition in which the brains of infants are unusually small –
and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant.

According to Brazilian health authorities, more than 3,500 microcephaly cases were reported in Brazil between October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the affected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly and some have died.

The CDC stressed that additional studies are needed to further characterize the relationship and more studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy, but “until more is known, and out of an abundance of caution, CDC recommends special precautions for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant”.

“Pregnant women in any trimester should consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. Pregnant women who must travel to one of these areas should talk to their doctor or other healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip,” it said.

“Women trying to become pregnant who are thinking about becoming pregnant should consult with their healthcare provider before traveling to these areas and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites during the trip.”

The advice from the CDC to travelers is that they wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants; use insect repellants; use permethrin-treated clothing and gear (such as boots, pants, socks, and tents); and stay and sleep in screened-in or air-conditioned rooms.

Zika causes a dengue-like illness, with symptoms that include fever, headache, skin rash, red eyes, and muscle ache, and it is usually mild and does not require hospitalization. Four in five people who acquire Zika infection may have no symptoms.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika.

Locally acquired Zika was reported for the first time in Brazil in May 2015, and the virus has since been reported in 14 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Zika virus confirmed in Guyana and Haiti

Guyana and Haiti have confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus has reached their shores.

Guyana’s Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton made the disclosure in the National Assembly yesterday that tests carried out by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had contracted the virus.

The sample was sent to the Trinidad-based CARPHA on January 4 and the confirmation came on Tuesday.

Norton said his ministry has taken steps to prevent a major outbreak, including fogging exercises, household inspections, and educational initiatives.

The news of the discovery of Zika in Haiti came from communicable disease and health analysis director at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Marcos Espinal, at a press conference yesterday.

But he has urged residents not to panic.

“The Zika virus isn’t a cause to go crazy. The diagnosis is for monitoring. The main thing here is to control the vectors (mosquitoes). The virus shouldn’t cause alarm among the population,” he said, according to the Dominican Today.

Espinal added that the focus should be on prevention and education, trash collection and getting rid of the mosquitoes.

Three Zika virus cases confirmed In Barbados

Barbados has recorded its first cases of the Zika virus.

According to the Ministry of Health, of eight samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing, three returned positive and five negative for the virus.

No details were given about the patients, or whether they had contracted the virus in Barbados or abroad.

The Ministry pointed out that persons might be unaware that they have the virus, as they might not develop any symptoms. It therefore advised everyone, including pregnant women and women of child-bearing age, to avoid exposure to mosquitos.

However, unlike officials in Haiti and Brazil, Barbadian health officials gave no special warning to pregnant women against the background of an apparent link between the virus and microcephaly, a rare condition in which the brains of infants are unusually small.

- Caribbean 360.

Jamaica advises women to delay pregnancy due to Zika virus

Jamaica's health minister is advising women to delay plans to become pregnant for the next six to 12 months due to the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

The island has not even recorded any cases of Zika, which is spreading in the Americas and is suspected of causing over 3,500 babies to be born with brain damage in Brazil.

But Health Minister Horace Dalley says it's just a matter of time before the dengue-like virus makes it to the island. It is already confirmed in nearby Haiti.

Dalley said Monday in a statement that pregnant women should take extra precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Growing evidence links Zika to microcephaly, a rare condition in which newborns have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly. - CTV News.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Zika Virus Case Confirmed In Texas - Person Traveled To Latin America!

Male Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are seen in this picture. Zika virus is among the viruses spead by the species. REUTERS/Ma Qiang/Southern Metropolis Daily

January 13, 2016 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - A traveler who recently returned to the Houston area from El Salvador has a confirmed case of Zika, a virus borne by mosquitoes, health officials in Harris County, Texas, said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said it has confirmed 22 cases of the disease among returning U.S. travelers since it was first reported in 2007, and is still receiving specimens for testing from travelers who recently became ill.

There is no indication that mosquitoes in the continental United States are spreading Zika.

But in December Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, confirmed the first locally acquired case of Zika virus in a person who had not traveled outside the island.

The Zika virus has gained attention recently because Brazil is investigating a possible link between the infection and cases of infants born with microcephaly, abnormally small head size associated with incomplete brain development, the CDC said.

Harris County health officials said they were urging travelers to take protective measures against mosquitoes, such as netting and repellent, if they travel to areas where the infection is present.

Zika virus outbreaks have occurred in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, and have been reported in some countries in the Americas, the CDC said.

It is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes, which also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses and are common in Texas, Florida and elsewhere in the United States.

Zika is usually a mild illness with fever, rash and joint pain.

There is no preventive vaccine, according to the CDC. - Yahoo.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Zika Virus Spreads To The Caribbean - Barbados Reports Suspected Cases Of Zika And H1N1 Viruses!

January 12, 2016 - BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS - Health authorities in Barbados have reported eight suspected cases of the H1N1 and Zika viruses.

Minister of Health John Boyce said samples have been sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency for confirmatory testing.

And he has cautioned the population not to panic.

The minister said that although he is aware that members of the public would be concerned whenever a new disease emerged, Barbadians should use simple measures to prevent mosquito breeding around their homes, business places and communities.

“The fact that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus, is the same mosquito that spreads dengue fever and chikungunya, we are all very familiar with the prevention and control measures which we need to undertake…Inspect your surroundings to search out and remove mosquito breeding places on your properties.

Minister of Health John Boyce.

The Ministry of Health recommends that this should be done once per week,” Boyce said.

The Zika virus was reported in the Caribbean region for the first time in June 2015. It is a mild febrile viral illness that is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito. Illness resulting from infection is usually mild, and it is not considered to be as severe as Dengue Fever or Chikungunya.

The H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu virus, is transmitted easily from person to person via droplets and small particles produced when infected people cough or sneeze.

Symptoms are similar to those of the seasonal flu and include: cough, fever, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.

Meantime, Boyce said that to combat Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses, the Environmental Health Department would continue to carry out prevention and control activities, such as house to house inspections, surveillance at ports of entry and fogging in high risk areas.

In addition, the ministry will continue its epidemiological surveillance to collect and analyze data from various sources, including private and public sector facilities, on a weekly basis to gather information for planning a response. - Caribbean 360.

MONUMENTAL PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: "Don't Get Pregnant" - Brazilians Urged As 2,700 Babies Born With BRAIN DAMAGE Linked To Zika Virus; STATE OF EMERGENCY In Six States!

© Paulo Whitaker / Reuters

December 26, 2015 - BRAZIL - An outbreak of a virus that doctors believe causes microcephaly in newborns has forced Brazilian health officials to appeal to withhold from getting pregnant. Zika virus is believed to already have caused over 2,700 cases of birth defects.

Putting off pregnancy has become a necessity in Brazil, particularly in the northeast, where a dangerous virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes dwelling in tropical climates cause microcephaly, according to doctors. It is an otherwise rare condition which causes dramatically shrunken skulls in newborns.

With over 900 cases reported, Pernambuco state has become the most affected territory. After the number of reported cases nationwide sharply increased from 147 in 2014 to over 2,400 in 2015, six Brazilian states have declared the state of emergency. Related deaths of 29 infants are currently being investigated.

The presence of Zika virus in a newborn was established on November 28 during an autopsy of a baby born with microcephaly, Brazil's Health Ministry reported.

The problem is worsened by the fact that initial ultrasounds of a fetus could be normal and the microcephaly is determined towards the end of the pregnancy.

“This is an unprecedented situation, unprecedented in world scientific research,” the Brazilian Health Ministry said on its website, estimating the latest outbreak between 0.5 and 1.5 million cases in the country altogether.

The pathogen, known as Zika virus, was first discovered in Uganda in the 1940s in forest monkeys. In most cases, the virus causes mild symptoms, like slight fever, rash and headaches, yet it can have serious neurological complications that could lead to death.

While endemic in certain parts of Africa, the Zika virus has since spread to the South Pacific and Asia, most recently emerging in Latin America. In Brazil it was first detected in 2015. Brazilian medical experts believe the virus could be transferred to the country by guests of the football 2014 World Cup.

The transmitter of the Zika virus, Aedes aegypti mosquito, is also known for spreading such deceases as chikungunya fever, dengue fever and yellow fever.

Initially the Zika virus cases were registered in northeastern Brazil in states like Pernambuco, but more cases of microcephaly have since been detected in regions to the south, in densely populated states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Today, Zika virus cases have been registered in 20 out of the nation’s 27 states.

“These are newborns who will require special attention their entire lives. It's an emotional stress that just can't be imagined,” Angela Rocha, a pediatric infection expert at Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, told CNN. “Here in Pernambuco, we're talking about a generation of babies that's going to be affected."

“It's a very personal decision, but at this moment of uncertainty, if families can put off their pregnancy plans, that's what we're recommending,” Rocha said.

Summertime, with its rainy season, is only beginning in Brazil, so medics expect further growth in the number of Zika cases. With Rio de Janeiro hosting 2016 Olympic Games, Brazilian authorities are making extensive efforts in trying to bring the outbreak under control, disinfecting stagnant pools that serve as the breeding ground for mosquitoes, including the Aedes aegypti, with truckloads of larvicide insecticide.

Hundreds of pregnant women with suspected Zika syndrome are being monitored right now, while other pregnant women are strongly recommended to stay indoors and use insect repellant.

The World Health Organization has issued an alert about the Zika situation in Brazil. - RT.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Zika Virus Spreads To More Countries In The Americas - Linked To Birth Defects In Brazil As First Deaths Recorded, Emergency Declared!

December 1, 2015 - AMERICAS - In quickly evolving developments, more countries in the Americas reported Zika virus cases, as Brazil—one of the hardest hit countries—reported more microcephaly cases, which health officials suspect might be related to infections in pregnant women.

In a pair of updates, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) weighed in on the spread of mosquito-borne Zika virus to more countries and the possible connection to complications, which may also include Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and congenital neurological malformations.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it has been notified of Zika virus infections in Guatemala and El Salvador, with infectious disease news sources flagging foreign language media reports suggesting that illnesses have been detected in Paraguay and Venezuela.

Zika virus infections, spread by Aedes mosquitoes, have rapidly spread to new parts of the Americas since 2014 and continues to sicken people in other parts of the world. Symptoms are similar to dengue fever, but usually milder, lasting 4 to 7 days.

Growing list of Zika detections

The WHO said in separate statements that it was notified of a locally acquired case in Guatemala, a patient who got sick on Nov 11, and reports from El Salvador of three locally acquired cases. In both instances, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab in Fort Collins confirmed the findings.

It said officials are taking prevention and control steps and are looking for additional cases. The WHO urged countries in the Americas to maintain the capacity to detect Zika cases and to prepare their health systems to take on more burden from the disease.

In an Nov 27 epidemiological update, the ECDC said the first two locally acquired cases have been reported from Mexico, one from Chiapas state, in the southeastern part of the country, and the other from Nuevo Leon state, located in the northeastern region. Aside from the already mentioned countries, other locations reporting cases this year include Colombia, Suriname, Cape Verde, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Indonesia.

In addition, ProMED Mail, the reporting service of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, flagged a media report from Paraguay that said health officials have detected six locally acquired Zika infections. Meanwhile, FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board, yesterday posted a media report from Venezuela that said 17 cases have been detected.

More microcephaly cases reported

The WHO is now reporting 739 microcephaly cases in newborns from northeastern Brazil, affecting 9 of the country's states, according to a Nov 27 statement. The WHO first acknowledged Brazil's unusual spike in cases on Nov 20, when 399 cases from 7 states were reported.

In its latest statement, the WHO investigations are underway into the cases, which include one death. It said technical experts have been deployed to help Brazil's health ministry with arbovirus virology, epidemiology, and disease surveillance.

Though the cause of the sharp increase hasn't been determined, the WHO said it wanted to raise awareness and asks other countries to be on alert for similar increases.

According to a Nov 27 ECDC assessment, Brazilian authorities have confirmed Zika virus RNA in amniotic fluid in two women who carried babies with microcephaly. Both women had symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection during their pregnancies. It added that the significance of the findings are still under investigation.

Also, the ECDC added that the Brazilian media has reported seven GBS cases linked to Zika virus illness, and it cited an earlier medical journal report of an increase in congenital nervous system malformations in newborns in French Polynesia following a Zika virus outbreak in 2013 and 2014.

In a risk assessment a few days earlier, the ECDC said there is only ecological evidence between the outbreak and microcephaly, and though an association can't be ruled out, further investigations are needed. It added that microcephaly can be caused by a variety of factors, but Flavivirus infections are known to potentially cause premature birth, congenital defects, and microcephaly. - CIDRAP.

 

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Welcome To The "Post-Antibiotic Era" - Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria From American Cattle Become Airborne; An Emerging Global Health Problem!

Airborne particulate matter wafting off American cattle yards contains antibiotics, bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant DNA. Reuters

March 30, 2015 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - Airborne particulate matter wafting off American cattle yards contains antibiotics, bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant DNA, a new study finds. Environmental tests on the spread of antibiotics have been performed in the past, but this is the first time researchers have examined aerial dispersion. The work suggests airborne transmission may be contributing to an emerging global health problem, where doctors find it increasingly difficult to treat life-threatening infections.

For some time now, scientists have worried that we may be entering a "post-antibiotic era," when the drugs that once defeated potentially fatal infections are no longer effective. Simply put, the bacteria causing infections in many cases are now immune to (or "resisting") the drugs. Since antibiotic-resistant bacterial DNA, if imbibed in water or consumed in meat, can be transferred to humans, many researchers say misuse and overuse of veterinary pharmaceuticals may be responsible, in part, for this global health threat. Large, commercial food operations rely on veterinary drugs, including antibiotics, to promote bigger growth of the animals. However, after the animals excrete the drugs, these antibiotics enter the environment via runoff, leaching, and the spread of manure.

For this new study, then, environmental toxicology researchers at Texas Tech University decided to look at whether these drugs become airborne. Over a period of six months, they gathered airborne particulate matter from 10 commercial cattle yards each with a capacity of 20,000 to 50,000 head of cattle, within 200 miles of Lubbock, Texas.

“Mass of [particulate matter] collected immediately downwind of feedyards was significantly different than that collected immediately upwind of each feedyard,” the authors wrote in the study.

Analyzing the downwind air and comparing it to the upwind air, the researchers found it contained antibiotics, bacteria, and a much greater number of microbial communities containing antibiotic-resistant genes. Specifically, the researchers detected tetracycline, chlortetracycline, and oxytetracycline in 60 percent of particulate matter samples downwind of feedyards, while oxytetracycline was the most frequently detected of these three — all downwind samples contained this one antibiotic, yet so did 30 percent of the upwind samples.

Based on these measurements, the authors noted “there is significant potential for widespread distribution of antibiotics, bacteria, and genetic material that encodes antibiotic resistance via airborne [particulate matter] as a result of the large mass of fine particles released daily from beef cattle feedyards in the Central Plains of the United States.” They added that cattle yard-derived microbes, including those possessing antibiotic resistance, are likely transported to new, possibly unexpected locations as well. - Medical Daily.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Saudi Arabia Reports 12 More Deaths From The MERS Virus!

A foreign woman wears a mouth and nose mask as she leaves a local hospital's emergency department, in this April 22, 2014 photograph,
in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. Photo - AFP Files

March 2, 2015 - SAUDI ARABIA - Ten more people in Saudi Arabia have died from MERS over the past week, health ministry figures showed on Friday, after an international mission urged extra measures to combat the virus.

Saudi Arabia is the country worst-hit by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The latest deaths occurred between February 20 and 26, adding to a surge of cases which has killed 27 people since the start of the month.

Doctor Abdul Aziz bin Saeed, who heads the centre coordinating the ministry's response to MERS, warned in early February that a rise in cases typically occurs around this time of year, when there are more juvenile camels circulating.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cited the preliminary results of studies indicating that people working with camels are at increased risk of infection from MERS-CoV, and young camels are particularly susceptible.

But representatives of the WHO and other UN agencies who concluded a visit to the kingdom this week said there was an urgent need for greater understanding of the "animal/human interface".

"There are so many aspects of the virus that are still unknown," said Berhe Tekola, of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The mission urged "improving disease prevention, especially in health facilities that continue to experience avoidable infections".

Saudi Arabia has implemented a public education campaign about MERS but the statement said "efforts to educate professionals and the public are urgently needed."

According to health ministry figures, a total of 916 people have been infected with MERS since it was first identified in the kingdom in 2012. Of those, 392 have died.

More than 20 countries have been affected by the virus but most cases have been linked to the Middle East. - Times of Oman.

MERS claims 2 more lives

The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) had claimed two more lives. The people who died were two Saudi men aged 84 and 51, from Queiyah and Hofuf. They were non-medical personnel and had pre-existing illnesses.

There were no infections recorded in the 24 hours up until Friday noon.

The ministry had announced three deaths on Thursday, two in Makkah and one in Riyadh, with three people infected from Alkhobar, Al-Jouf and Riyadh.

Since June 2012, there have been 916 MERS cases, with 394 deaths. Five hundred patients have been cured, with 21 under treatment at hospitals, and one person isolated at home, according to the ministry's website.

Meanwhile, King Saud University closed down its emergency section temporarily on Thursday as a precautionary measure on fears that an infected person may have turned up at its medical facility.
In a statement published in a local daily, Abdulrahman Al-Muammar, executive director of the KSU medical facility, said a 90-year-old Saudi woman, who had sought treatment for bleeding in her bowel, was suspected to have the virus.

"The person was transferred to the Prince Muhammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital in the east of Riyadh for observation. The hospital, which is maintained by the ministry of health, runs an isolation ward for patients infected with the virus."

As a precautionary measure, the authorities at the medical city disinfected its emergency department. All the patients and health staff in the section were tested and found negative.

Al-Muammar said that the hospital had dealt with four cases of people infected with the virus during the current year. - Zawya.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: 385 People Die Of The MERS Virus In Saudi Arabia - United Nations Sends Investigative Team!

Reuters / Stringer

February 22, 2015 - SAUDI ARABIA - As the deadly MERS virus with no vaccine caused two more fatalities in Saudi Arabia, bringing the death toll in the country to 385, an international team of health experts was dispatched to look into the cases.

The news of two more deaths was issues by Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry on Saturday. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, has infected 902 people in the country since it was first identified in 2012, though 490 people who contracted the disease have recovered.

Some 57 people have contracted MERS in the kingdom since the start of February.

An international team of UN human and animal health experts flew into Saudi Arabia on Friday to investigate the recent surge. A spokeswoman for the World Health Organization team said February has seen what appears to be one of the highest numbers of cases since the virus first emerged in humans.

"We are all very aware of this surge in cases," one of an 11-strong international MERS expert team, the WHO's Fadela Chaib, said in Ryad.

"Although this is still a small outbreak compared to last year, we still need to understand more about what is happening," she told Reuters.

First identified in humans in 2012, in Saudi Arabia, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that caused a deadly outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in China in 2003. Initial scientific studies have linked it in Saudi Arabia to camels.

MERS is a respiratory disease that can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure. A typical case of MERS is said to involve fever, coughing and shortness of breath. It can cause respiratory failure that requires mechanical ventilation and support in intensive care. Up to four of every 10 MERS sufferers have died.

The virus appears to cause more severe disease in people with weakened immune systems, the elderly and those with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and chronic lung disease. It’s not yet fully understood how people become infected.

In some cases, the virus appears to pass from an infected person to another person in close contact, as has previously happened among family members, patients, and healthcare workers. Recently, there have been an increased number of reports of healthcare associated infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Saudi Arabia has been criticized by WHO and others for taking time to examine and track down the source of the MERS virus, and to find out how it infects people and passes from one person to another.

"They [the Saudi authorities] are making progress, but there is a lot more work to do," Chaib declared.

The WHO said earlier this month it was concerned about MERS and its potential to spread internationally. - RT.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Nigeria H5N1 Bird Flu Now In 7 States - Suspected In Over 140,000 Birds!

January 23, 2015 - NIGERIA - An outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in Nigeria has spread to 21 commercial farms in seven different states, with more than 140,000 birds having been exposed to the virus, the agriculture minister said on Thursday.

Authorities said the deadly virus had arrived in Lagos, in the southwest, and Kano, in the north, last week.

Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina said it had now spread to five other states across the country: Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Plateau.

Around 100,000 of the birds exposed were in Kano, Adesina said.

"All the farms have been quarantined and decontaminated. Other locations in Ikorodu, Ojo and Lagos Mainland have already been quarantined, while awaiting confirmation," he said.

"Nigeria will successfully control the bird flu outbreak. We have successfully controlled it in the past," he added.

Africa's most populous country and biggest economy was the continent's first country to detect bird flu in 2006, when chicken farms were found to have the H5N1 strain. In 2007, it reported its first human death from the disease.

H5N1 bird flu first infected humans in 1997 in Hong Kong. It has since spread from Asia to Europe and Africa and has become entrenched in poultry in some countries, causing millions of poultry infections and several hundred human deaths. - Reuters.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Woman Dies Of H5N1 Bird Flu In Egypt - Fourth Death This Year!

January 19, 2015 - EGYPT - An Egyptian woman died of H5N1 bird flu, the health ministry said on Monday, the fourth person to die of the illness in the country this year.

The 47-year-old was in critical condition when she arrived at a hospital in Assiut province, a rural area where an H5N1 death was reported last week, ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said.

The ministry announced two other cases in treatment, bringing the total number of cases in Egypt to 20 this year so far.

This includes four deaths as well as six recoveries and 10 cases still under treatment, Abdel Ghaffar said.

The World Health Organization says there has been a jump in the number of H5N1 infections in people in Egypt, but that there does not appear to have been any major genetic change in the flu strain to explain the rise in human cases.

At least 10 people died from the disease in Egypt in 2014.

The WHO said last week that between Dec.4 and Jan. 6 there had been 18 new laboratory-confirmed human cases of H5N1 infection in Egypt, including four deaths, the highest ever monthly number of human cases in the country.

The WHO says that whenever bird flu viruses are circulating in poultry, there is a risk of sporadic infections or small clusters of human cases.

Egypt's H5N1 cases have largely been in poor rural areas in the south, where villagers tend to keep and slaughter poultry themselves. - Yahoo.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Oman Reports First MERS Death In Nearly A Year - Over 8,000 People Infected Globally; Nine Percent Of Whom Died!

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus is seen in an undated transmission electron micrograph from the National Institute for
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in this file handout photo. (Reuters)

January 10, 2015 - OMAN - Oman reported Thursday its first death of a person from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in nearly a year.

No further details were given in the health ministry statement carried by the official ONA news agency. It is the third MERS fatality in the country.

Oman borders Saudi Arabia, the country hardest hit by MERS.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected more than 8,000 people, nine percent of whom died.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it can cause rapid kidney failure.

Research by Saudi scientists indicates that camels play a role in the transmission of the virus to humans.

In November 2013, an Omani man diagnosed with MERS died in Abu Dhabi.

The victim, 75, had been visiting Abu Dhabi in October when he was diagnosed with the virus.

Following his death, the patient’s body was repatriated to Oman.

As reported by Gulf News, another Omani patient, who represents the first known case of the virus diagnosed in Oman, also died in the country’s northwest region in November. He was 68 years old, and had been running a persistent fever before being diagnosed.

The vast majority of human cases have been in Saudi Arabia, but isolated Mers cases have been reported across Europe and in Asia and the United States in people linked who have recently travelled in the Middle East.

Scientists are not sure of the origin of the virus, but several studies have linked it to camels and some experts think it is being passed to humans through close physical contact or through the consumption of camel meat or camel milk.

However, a study last year, published in the online journal of the American Society for Microbiology mBio, scientists said the detection of the virus in air samples was concerning and needed to be followed up.

“The clear message here is that detection of airborne Mers-CoV molecules, which were 100 percent identical with the viral genomic sequence detected from a camel actively shedding the virus in the same barn on the same day, warrants further investigations and measures to prevent possible airborne transmission of this deadly virus,” said Esam Azhar, an associate professor of medical virology at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah who led the study.

Viruses that spread through air - such as flu viruses for example - are far more likely to spread swiftly and widely in human populations than those that can only move from an animal to a person, or from person to person, via direct contact.

For their research, Azhar’s team collected three air samples on three consecutive days from a camel barn near Jeddah owned by a 43-year-old male Mers patient who later died from the disease.

Four of the man’s nine camels had shown signs of nasal discharge the week before the patient became ill, and he had applied a topical medicine in the nose of one of the sick camels a week before experiencing symptoms.

Using a laboratory technique called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect levels of particular genes, the scientists found that the first air sample, collected on November 7, 2013, contained genetic fragments of the Mers virus.

The World Health Organisation and the Saudi Health Ministry have advised camel farm and slaughterhouse workers to take precautions against Mers by ensuring good hygiene, including frequent hand washing after touching animals, facial protection where feasible, and wearing of protective clothing. - Gulf News.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - First MERS Case Detected In Bangladesh!

June 16, 2014 - BANGLADESH - Bangladesh has detected its first confirmed case of the often-fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus, with the 53-year-old patient currently receiving special treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Dhaka.

There is no cure or vaccine for the MERS virus.

Sources said the patient had returned to the country from the US via Abu Dhabi on June 4, and started developing a fever from June 6. He was admitted to the hospital on June 9 with pneumonia and respiratory ailments.

The condition of the patient was reportedly improving, with doctors expecting to shift him to a cabin from the ICU soon.

Dr Mahmudur Rahman, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control Research (IEDCR), confirmed the news about the first case of MERS Coronavirus in Bangladesh and told the Dhaka Tribune that they had collected several samples of throat swab, nasopharyngeal and sputum between June 10 and 14.

The disease was confirmed on Saturday through repeated tests of Polymer Change Reaction (PCR) process in the IEDCR’s laboratory, while the news was officially disclosed yesterday.

According to International Health Regulation rules, the IEDCR has informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the first MERS case in the country.

Although the IEDCR had been closely monitoring the MERS situation since last Hajj, the tests of 39 previous suspected patients had come out negative.

The IEDCR director said MERS was a highly infectious disease, with family members and health workers with close contact with the patient running the risk of being infected with the virus. Doctors of public and private hospitals have been trained to treat MERS patients, Dr Mahmudur claimed.

IEDCR sources also said they were now monitoring 52 people who came in contact with the MERS patient since he contracted the disease.

Precaution and symptoms

The IEDCR director advised expatriates who had developed fever, respiratory illness or pneumonia within 14 days of their return from abroad, especially from Middle East countries, to go to a doctor for diagnosis.

Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, director of communicable disease control (CDC) of health directorate, told the Dhaka Tribune they were taking precautionary measures ahead of upcoming Hajj, including creating awareness among the pilgrims about the disease. 

He said every haji, during their pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, should a wear mask, regularly wash hands with soap, and stay away from people who are sneezing or coughing.

According to the WHO, most MERS patients suffered from severe acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some patients also had gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhoea and nausea or vomiting. For many people with MERS, have more severe complications following, such as pneumonia and kidney failure.

About 30% of the people with MERS have died, with most of the fatalities suffering from an underlying medical condition. - Dhaka Tribune.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Algeria Reports First Death From MERS!

June 11, 2014 - ALGERIA - Algeria said a 66-year-old man died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the first deadly case of the virus in the North African country.

The man died late on Monday at a hospital in western Algeria where he had been receiving treatment since the confirmation of his infection late last month, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The man was one of two identified with MERS after returning from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, which has seen a jump in cases.

A 59-year-old man, the second confirmed case, is still being treated in hospital and his health has improved, the statement said. - Reuters.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Pilgrims Pour Into Saudi Arabia Undeterred By MERS Fears; WHO Experts Find Hospital Breaches Worsened MERS Outbreak In The United Arab Emirates; Two Utah Residents Tracked After Coming In Contact With The Virus!

June 07, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - Muslim pilgrims from around the world are pouring into the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, undeterred by the spread of the MERS virus which has killed 284 people in the kingdom.

Pilgrims Pour Into Saudi Arabia Undeterred By MERS Fears

The mysterious Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

MERS first appeared in Saudi Arabia in April 2012, and the kingdom remains the worst-hit country, accounting for the bulk of a global death toll.

But the faithful who dream of visiting the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina at least once in their lives continue to pour into Mecca to perform the lesser umrah pilgrimage. "We have received warnings by authorities in our country about MERS and were informed of the importance of taking precautions," said 45-year-old Abdullah, a pilgrim from Malaysia


Wearing a mask, Abdullah said he applies disinfectants as he enters the Grand Mosque in Mecca. "God will protect me," he said.

More pilgrims are expected to arrive with the approach of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts late in June, and sees hundreds of thousands descend on Mecca for umrah.

But numbers will rocket when pilgrims arrive for hajj, the largest annual religious gathering worldwide, which takes place this year in October.

Local authorities in Mecca are distributing leaflets and brochures containing advice on hygiene and measures to prevent the risk of infection by the coronavirus.

Tunisian pilgrim, Safia Bin Mohammed shrugged off the fears of MERS.

"I am not afraid of the coronavirus," she said, pointing out that it is not always easy to get a visa to perform pilgrimage.

"It was not easy to come here, so I couldn't have postponed my pilgrimage," said the 56-year-old woman, insisting she was "complying with the medical precautions."

 (AFP Photo/STR)

 (AFP Photo/STR)

In a preemptive measure to avoid a potential importation of the virus, Tunisian authorities have advised nationals to postpone their plans for pilgrimage this year.

The virus has been imported to more than a dozen other countries.

All of those cases relate to people who became ill while in the Middle East, with some involving pilgrims travelling to the Muslim holy sites in western Saudi Arabia.

Last year, five million pilgrims visited the kingdom for umrah and hajj.

This year, the number of umrah pilgrims has reached 4.8 million since the start of the lunar Muslim calendar in October, according to official statistics.

Fears mounted in April when several cases of infection were registered in the western city of Jeddah after MERS had been largely confined to Eastern Province, where it first appeared in April 2012.

The port city of Jeddah, which lies 80 kilometres (51 miles) north of Mecca, is the main entry point for pilgrims.

But Saudi Arabia's hajj ministry has not yet taken any special measures related to MERS.

The World Health Organisation has also so far not advised special screening at points of entry, nor does it currently recommend any travel or trade restrictions, including for the pilgrimage.

- Camel to human jump -

There is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of MERS, according to WHO.

MERS has now killed 284 people out of 691 infected in Saudi Arabia since it first appeared.

"We are complying with the instructions of the health authorities. The situation seems normal," said Murshed Ahmed, a Bangladeshi leading a group of 23 pilgrims from his country.

"The coronavirus has no impact on the umrah season," said Saad al-Qurashi, a Saudi who works for an agency specialised in religious tourism.

But the head of a similar agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, seemed more cautious.

 AFP Photo/STR)

A Saudi wears a mouth and nose mask as he works near camels at his farm on May 12, 2014 outside Riyadh
(AFP Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

"The hotel occupancy rate remains averagely normal for this time of the year, but we never know how the situation will evolve in Ramadan," he said.

Like SARS, MERS appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it causes rapid kidney failure.

Previous research has suggested that the virus has been quite common in camels for at least the past 20 years.

Researchers said Wednesday they have found the first direct evidence that MERS jumps directly from camels to humans. - Yahoo.

WHO Experts Find Hospital Breaches Worsened MERS Outbreak In The United Arab Emirates

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus is seen in an undated transmission electron
micrograph from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Credit: Reuters/National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Handout 

Lapses in hospital infection control measures exacerbated an outbreak of a deadly new viral disease which has infected more than 60 people and killed at least 10 in the United Arab Emirates, health investigators said on Friday.

Reporting the findings of a five-day mission to the UAE, experts from the World Health Organisation said, however, that they found no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

"The recent upsurge of cases in Abu Dhabi appears to have been caused by a combination of factors, including a breach in infection prevention and control measures in health care settings, active surveillance and increase in community acquired cases," they said in a statement.

First reported in humans in 2012, MERS causes severe and often fatal respiratory illness, with symptoms similar to those seen during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. Its around 40 percent death rate and reports of clusters of human-to-human transmission have raised concerns it may blow up into a pandemic.

So far, it has infected more than 800 people around the world, killing at least 310 of them. The vast majority of cases have been in Saudi Arabia, but there have also been sporadic cases and clusters across the Middle East and in Europe, Asia and the United States.

At the heart of the outbreak, Saudi Arabia has been criticised for its handling of MERS, which public health experts say could have been under control by now if officials and scientists there had collaborated more on studies into how the virus operates and where it is coming from..

In response, the Saudi health ministry says it has put in place new measures for better data gathering, reporting and transparency, including standardisation of testing and improved guidelines for labelling and storing samples.

Reporting on the UAE's handling of the problem, the WHO praised authorities there, saying they had been "following up diligently" on MERS cases, including conducting repeated tests to check when cases have been cleared of the virus.

"This data will make an important contribution to the risk assessment and to guide the health response internationally," said Peter Ben Embarek, who led the WHO delegation.

A six-strong team from the WHO and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network were invited by the UAE to investigate MERS after an upsurge in cases there in April.

The team met experts from Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority and the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and visited the hospital to which two-thirds of the country's cases had been be traced, it said, without giving its name or location.

"We are impressed by the amount of data and information generated during the investigation of MERS cases by UAE to help better understand MERS- CoV," Ben Embarek said.

"This knowledge is of utmost importance to the rest of the world to better discover the source of the virus and the routes of transmissions from animals to humans."

The Geneva-based U.N. health agency urged UAE health authorities to continue investigating MERS, including the source of infection, and to share new information as it is available.

"There is an ongoing need to share experiences and knowledge from all countries that have cases of MERS-CoV to better understand this emerging disease, including the role of animals in the spread of the MERS-CoV," it said. - Reuters.

Two Utah Residents Tracked After Coming In Contact With The Virus

Health officials confirm they have been tracking two Utahns who came in contact with the deadly MERS virus as they traveled.

The two Utahns live in Davis County, said Salt Lake County Health Director Gary Edwards, and they traveled on the same flights as a patient with Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS) coming back from Saudi Arabia. They didn't find out until after their flight was over that their health could be compromised, he added.

“There have been three cases in the United States," Edwards said. "Two of those individuals flew; had multiple legs coming from Saudi Arabia coming back to the United States. There have been a few individuals who were on those flights.”

The first two cases in the U.S. were brought back by health care workers who were in Saudi Arabia. The first case of MERS in the U.S. was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 2, 2014, the CDC website said. The third person to get MERS, in the middle of May, came in contact with one of the original MERS patients.

Salt Lake and Davis County health officials were asked by the CDC to investigate them as they try to track how MERS operates. The two people in Utah have not shown any symptoms, which means they don't have the virus, Edwards said.

“What we learned from these few examples is that it apparently does not spread easily person to person," he said. "There has to be much closer contact, such as health care, or family members who are providing care.”

There is no cure for MERS and it is not known how long the threat will last. It first showed up in Saudi Arabia in 2012, the CDC reported. Symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath.

The virus kills about a third of those it infects. - KSL.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Saudi Arabia Reports BIG JUMP In MERS Cases, Including 282 Deaths; Virus Spreads In The U.S. Through A Handshake!

June 03, 2014 - SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia reported significantly more deaths from the MERS virus on Tuesday, the same day the country sacked one of its top health officials.

A man with mask speaks on his mobile phone in Jeddah May 29, 2014. Saudi Arabia is working with international
scientific organisations to improve its response to a deadly new virus that has killed 186 people in the kingdom,
its acting health minister Adel Fakieh told Reuters on Wednesday.Credit: Reuters/Mohamed Alhwaity

The Saudi Ministry of Health reported that 282 people have died since 2012 from the Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, a major uptick from the previous official death toll of 190.

This is out of 688 total cases in the Arab nation; 353 patients have recovered and 53 are still receiving treatment.

About five weeks ago, Saudi Arabia was reporting 339 known cases of MERS-CoV, 102 of which had resulted in deaths.

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus is seen in an undated transmission electron
micrograph from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). 
REUTERS/National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Handout via Reuters

The new numbers came out the same day that acting Health Minister Adel bin Mohammed Fakieh announced he had relieved Deputy Health Minister Dr. Ziad Memish from his post, according to a statement on the health ministry's website. No reason was given.

Last week, the World Health Organization reported it was aware of 636 "laboratory-confirmed cases" of MERS infections, which had led to 193 deaths. It is not immediately clear how Saudi Arabia's latest figures affect those numbers. There are documented cases of the virus around the world.

As a coronavirus, MERS is in the same group of illnesses as the common cold.

But it is much more lethal: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that about 30% of those infected have died.


WATCH: Dr. Sanjay Gupta - People can have MERS and not konw it.

Those with MERS have severe acute respiratory illness, including symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some develop more dangerous complications like pneumonia and kidney failure.

There is no vaccine or special treatment.

MERS is thought to have originated on the Arabian Peninsula in 2012. No one knows exactly where it came from, but evidence implicating camels is emerging. In a recently published study in mBio, researchers said they isolated live MERS virus from two single-humped camels, known as dromedaries. They found multiple substrains in the camel viruses, including one that perfectly matches a substrain isolated from a human patient. - CNN. 

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Deadly Respiratory Disease MERS Spreads To Iran!

May 29, 2014 - IRAN - Two cases of MERS, the deadly respiratory disease originating in Saudi Arabia, have been confirmed in Iran, according to the country’s health officials.

MERS, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or Corona Virus, is an often-fatal pneumonia, bringing on a severe cough and high fevers.

There are no vaccinations or direct treatment, and about a third of those infected die.

Both individuals contracted the disease when they were hospitalized near an infected patient who had returned from pilgrimage to Mecca, although it has not been confirmed if that patient tested positive for the virus.

To date, about 175 individuals in Saudi Arabia have died from MERS, which has already spread throughout the region and farther, with cases found in Malaysia, Greece, Lebanon and the United States. All other cases have been individuals who have either traveled to or come in contact with someone from Saudi Arabia.

The two patients are sisters and one is in critical condition, according to Mohammad Mehdi Gooya, the director-general of communicable diseases at the Iranian Health Ministry's Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention.

They are receiving treatment in Kerman, a northern Iranian province, where a total of four cases have been reported but only two confirmed.

“This is a very dangerous virus. It’s not easy to get it but once you get it, it’s extremely lethal,” said Dr. David Samadi of the Fox News Medical A Team.

“Global travel is exposing more people to the virus, but unfortunately there is still no good treatment, just fluid and rest,” said Samadi, Chair of Urology at Lenox Hill Hospital.

MERS was discovered about two years ago in Saudi Arabia, and is believed to originate from camels, although Samadi said he is skeptical about that.

The virus comes from the same family as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed about 800 people globally after it was first detected in China in 2002.

The cases in Iran appeared just before the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims from around the world travel to Saudi Arabia.

All returning Iranian pilgrims will be tested for MERS, and those showing any symptoms will be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks, Gooya said.

Almost one million Iranians make the trip each year. This year it will take place in October. - FOX News.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - 23 Orlando Hospital Workers Cleared After Treating MERS Patient As Saudi Arabia And UAE Report 6 MERS Cases!

May 25, 2014 -  HEALTH - Orlando Health officials say all of the 23 health care workers who were exposed to the MERS, or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome virus, have been cleared to return to work after negative test results.

Health officials required testing for all physicians and workers at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital and Orlando Regional Medical Center that treated the Saudi Arabian man who contracted the virus.

The 23 workers were forced to stay home for the full 14-day incubation period of the virus.

The 44-year-old patient being treated at the hospital for MERS was released from the hospital earlier this week after testing negative for the virus.

Officials said there is no concern that the virus would spread in Central Florida. - Click Orlando.

Saudi Arabia, UAE Report 6 MERS Cases

Skyline of Abu Dhabi, home to all 3 new UAE cases.
brightstorm / iStockphoto

Six more MERS-CoV cases were reported today, three each in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the springtime surge of illnesses continued, though at a more modest pace than it showed through most of April and early May.

Also today, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appealed for an urgent increase in research on MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in animals, including a systematic hunt for animal and environmental sources of human infections.

Cases in Saudi hot spots

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported one MERS case each in Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina, three cities that have seen plenty of MERS activity lately.

The cases involve a 46-year-old man in Jeddah with no symptoms, a 19-year-old man with diabetes who is in an intensive care unit in Mecca, and a 20-year-old woman in Medina with no symptoms. The 46-year-old and the woman had contact with other MERS patients; both are in home isolation.

The 19-year-old apparently acquired his infection in the hospital, as he was hospitalized for other medical reasons on May 17 and experienced respiratory symptoms May 23.

The MOH also reported one death in a previous case, that of a 34-year-old man in Jeddah whose illness was reported Apr 24. Four other MERS patients were released from hospitals in Mecca and Riyadh today.
Today's report raises Saudi Arabia's MERS count to 554 cases and 178 deaths.

WHO details UAE cases

The new cases in the UAE were reported today by the World Health Organization (WHO), following its receipt of a report from UAE officials 2 days ago. All three cases were in Abu Dhabi.

One case is in a 71-year-old man who has several preexisting illnesses and has been hospitalized since Feb 11, the WHO reported. He got sick with a fever on May 4 and tested positive for MERS-CoV 3 days later. He had had contact with another MERS case-patient, a 39-year-old female healthcare worker whose case was reported to the WHO on May 11.

The second case involved a 26-year-old man whose infection was detected on May 8 through general screening at his (unnamed) workplace, though he had had no exposure to other MERS patients and no symptoms on the day of screening. He had had contact with cows and sheep but not camels, nor had he consumed any raw camel products, the WHO said. For isolation purposes, he was hospitalized from May 8 to 14.

In the third case, a 36-year-old man got sick on May 2 and was hospitalized 5 days later, the WHO said. He tested positive on May 9 and then recovered and was released May 12. He had preexisting illnesses, but he had no exposure to other MERS patients, animals, or raw camel products.

The three infections raise the WHO's MERS count to 635 cases with 193 deaths. The number includes 17 cases that Saudi Arabia reported from May 16 to 18.

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today put its own MERS count at 658 cases and 204 deaths. The numbers are listed in the agency's weekly Communicable Disease Threats Report.

The ECDC count, which doesn't include the latest Saudi cases, lists the Saudi tally at 541 cases and 160 deaths. It shows the UAE as having 67 cases and 9 deaths, the second-highest totals.

FAO wants more animal research

The FAO's call for more MERS-CoV research came after a regional technical consultation in Oman, the agency said in a statement today.

Participants noted the recent increase in cases in the Arabian Peninsula and the suspicion that camels are the primary source of human cases, the FAO said. The experts recommended:

• Raising public awareness of MERS-CoV
• Urgent investment in research and surveillance of animals
• A systematic search for potential sources of human infection from animal sources or the environment
• Joint efforts and coordination among public health authorities

Many camels in the Middle East carry the virus or have antibodies that suggest past exposure to it, but no one has yet figured out exactly how it spreads from camels to humans. Experts have been calling for case-control investigations and other studies to help answer that question and related ones.

"There is an urgent need to focus investigations on the epidemiology of MERS-CoV in animal species, to prevent human primary infections and to avoid putting other people in danger," Juan Lubroth, DVM, PhD, the FAO's chief veterinary officer, said in today's statement.

"By better understanding the epidemiology, we can provide the necessary guidelines to avoid spillover from animals to humans and protect the camel or other animal industries from potential negative consequences," he said.

In addition to more research, the FAO called for several steps to help limit the spread of MERS-CoV:

• Increased biosecurity precautions at farms and border crossings
• An emphasis on personal hygiene for people who work with livestock
• Greater region-wide information sharing and closer coordination to manage risks posed by the movement of livestock
• Possible use of animal passports or certificates for racing camels
• Engagement of the private sector, such as racing associations, breeding enterprises, and meat-packing operations

Participants in the technical meeting included the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the WHO, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and experts who are currently collaborating with researchers and authorities of the region, the FAO said.

The meeting also drew public health and veterinary authorities and other specialists from a dozen countries: Ethiopia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

OIE camel report

In other news, Omani officials submitted to the OIE a report on MERS-CoV infections in five camels, which appears to match a media report published 2 days ago about five infected racing camels in the country. Both appear to match up with a Eurosurveillance report that was published Apr 24 and described the detection of MERS-CoV in 5 of 76 camels from around Oman.

The new OIE report said the camels had no clinical signs of illness and that humans with exposure to the camels were tested and found free of the virus. Testing was done by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

Oman has had two human MERS cases, according to today's ECDC communicable disease report. - CIDRAP.