Man tests positive for MERS virus in UAE, WHO confirms

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A 28-year-old expatriate man has tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the UAE, the World Health Organization confirmed Monday.

The global health body said the man, who lives in Al Ain, was admitted to hospital last month. However, the case had no history of direct or indirect contact with dromedaries, goats, or sheep.

Health authorities in the UAE identified and monitored 108 people who came in close contact with the MERS patient, but no secondary cases have been detected to date.

Cases of MERS infection are rare in the UAE. Since July 2013, the UAE 94 confirmed cases of MERS (including this new case) and 12 deaths. Globally, the total number of confirmed MERS cases reported to WHO since 2012 is 2605, including 936 associated deaths.

Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre has increased monitoring for the virus to try to identify potential cases and has sought to raise awareness by hosting workshops and issuing notices to relevant bodies.

The WHO called on health authorities to be vigilant and urged strong surveillance of possible cases to be carried out by all of its members.

MERS virus

The WHO said MERS is a viral respiratory infection of humans and dromedary camels. Infection with MERS can cause severe disease in humans resulting in high mortality.

Humans are infected with the virus from direct or indirect contact with dromedaries, a host and zoonotic source of MERS infection.

MERS has demonstrated the ability to be transmitted between humans. So far, the observed non-sustained human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts and in healthcare settings.

The WHO called on healthcare workers to consistently apply standard precautions to all patients at every interaction in healthcare settings. The health body said droplet precautions, including eye protection, should be applied in addition to standard precautions when providing care to patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection.

Contact precautions should also be added when caring for probable or confirmed cases of MERS infection while airborne precautions should be applied when performing aerosol-generating procedures or in settings where aerosol-generating procedures are conducted.

Early identification, case management and isolation of cases, quarantine of contacts, appropriate infection prevention and control measures in health care settings, and public health awareness can prevent human-to-human transmission of MERS.

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