tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
By Michael Peel and Abeer Allam in Abu Dhabi and Andrew Jack in London
Global health experts have stepped up warnings to the more than a million foreign pilgrims on their way to Saudi Arabia of the risks there from a deadly Sars-like virusthat has killed more than 30 people worldwide.
As vast numbers of Saudi and non-Saudi Muslims prepare to travel to Mecca next month for the peak of the Umrah pilgrimage, public health officials fear the virus may be circulating more widely than thought.
The influx of visitors to Saudi Arabia increases the chances of both domestic and international transmission of the coronavirus dubbed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed more than 20 people in the kingdom.?The risk [to pilgrims] is there,? said Salman Rawaf, professor of public health at Imperial College, London. ?The advice from the World Health Organisation is really: wear a mask.?
Health officials have called on countries to look out for signs of infection from the virus ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is an especially popular time for pilgrimages and is due to start around July 8.
Anthony Mounts, technical lead on MERS at the WHO, said information was being prepared for distribution to many thousands of Muslims travelling to Mecca, amid signs that some infections by the virus may not have been picked up.
One concern is that surveillance and diagnosis so far had focused on severe cases and thus had likely missed many milder cases, Mr Mounts said.
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http://bambooinnovator.com/2013/06/...rus-mers-has-potential-to-cause-pandemic-who/
Global health experts have stepped up warnings to the more than a million foreign pilgrims on their way to Saudi Arabia of the risks there from a deadly Sars-like virusthat has killed more than 30 people worldwide.
As vast numbers of Saudi and non-Saudi Muslims prepare to travel to Mecca next month for the peak of the Umrah pilgrimage, public health officials fear the virus may be circulating more widely than thought.
The influx of visitors to Saudi Arabia increases the chances of both domestic and international transmission of the coronavirus dubbed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed more than 20 people in the kingdom.?The risk [to pilgrims] is there,? said Salman Rawaf, professor of public health at Imperial College, London. ?The advice from the World Health Organisation is really: wear a mask.?
Health officials have called on countries to look out for signs of infection from the virus ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is an especially popular time for pilgrimages and is due to start around July 8.
Anthony Mounts, technical lead on MERS at the WHO, said information was being prepared for distribution to many thousands of Muslims travelling to Mecca, amid signs that some infections by the virus may not have been picked up.
One concern is that surveillance and diagnosis so far had focused on severe cases and thus had likely missed many milder cases, Mr Mounts said.
...
http://bambooinnovator.com/2013/06/...rus-mers-has-potential-to-cause-pandemic-who/