WHO is Notified of Six Cases of MERS-CoV in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

On May 21, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Qatar notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of one additional case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Details of the case are as follows: A 29-year-old, non-national male from Doha developed symptoms on 15 May and sought medical advice at a primary health care center on May 19, whereupon he was treated symptomatically and sent home with home isolation instructions. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 20, whereupon the patient was admitted to hospital. He has no comorbidities. The patient has a history of frequent contact with camels but no consumption of raw camel milk. He has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, the patient is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.

Between May 18 and 23, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of four additional cases of MERS-CoV infection, including one death. Details of the cases are as follows:

1. A 77-year-old female from Hafouf city developed symptoms on May 17 and was admitted to ahospital on the same day. A nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for MERS-CoV on 22 May. The patient has comorbidities. She was admitted to the same hospital as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case. Investigation of history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing. Currently, the patient is in critical condition in ICU.

2. A 48-year-old male from Hafouf city developed symptoms on May1  and was admitted to ahospital on May 10. The patient, who has comorbidities, was initially diagnosed with a cardiovascular condition. He was transferred to a cardiac center in Hafouf city on May 14. On May 20, a nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for MERS-CoV, which led to the patient being transferred to the MERS-CoV reference hospital in Hafouf on the same day. He was admitted to the same ward and treated by the same health workers as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that was reported previously. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to onset of symptoms. Currently, he is in critical condition in ICU.

3. A 73-year-old female from Aflaj City developed symptoms on May 14 while admitted to ahospital since May 2 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient had comorbidities. A nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 17. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing. The patient died on May 18.

4. A 59-year-old, non-national female from Riyadh city developed symptoms on May 15 and was admitted to ahospital in Riyadh on May 16. A nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 17. The patient has comorbidities. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing. Currently, the patient is in stable condition isolated at home.

On May 18, 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates notified WHO of one additional case of MERS-CoV infection. Details of the case are as follows: The patient is a 33-year-old, non-national male from Al Ain. He has a history of contact with MERS-CoV infected camels imported from Oman. A sputum sample tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 17, whereupon the patient was admitted to hospital. He was asymptomatic at the time of laboratory testing. He has no comorbidities and no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to detection. Currently, the case is still asymptomatic and in stable condition in a negative pressure room on a ward.

Contact tracing of household contacts and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. Globally, WHO has been notified of 1,139 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 431 related deaths.

Source: WHO