Catbird
Senior Moderator
Some excerpts from an interview of Dep. Minister of Health by Helen Branswell. The entire article is worth the read.
xhttp://www.calgaryherald.com/health/MERS+cases+likely+over+found+Saudi+because+country+tests+official/8457139/story.html
"MERS cases likely around globe, found in Saudi because country tests: official
By Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press May 31, 2013
In the world's eyes, Saudi Arabia appears to be ground zero for the new MERS coronavirus, with the country accounting for nearly 80 per cent of known cases. But the kingdom's deputy minister of health believes this virus is infecting people around the world, and other countries aren't catching cases because they aren't looking.
In a wide-ranging interview, Dr. Ziad Memish also said that while he takes the new virus seriously, he doesn't believe the outbreak deserves the type of attention it is receiving. Earlier this week, the director general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, called the new coronavirus "a threat to the entire world."
..."But ... you know, the H7N9 killed 35 people and there were 134 odd cases in a few weeks. So I think, yes, it's a concern, but not as big a concern as is being portrayed in the media."
...Despite the complaints about the kingdom's lack of transparency, Memish insisted he has been forthcoming.
"People say we're not transparent. People say we're not giving information. But as we spoke to the DG" ? the director general ? "and WHO we said everything that we are learning," Memish said.
He clearly chafes at the suggestion that the virus is coming from his country, or region.
..."If you ask why we're picking up more cases in Saudi recently, it's because we're just looking harder and harder. We're processing hundreds of samples a day from different parts of the country. So far we sampled 1,500 or 1,700 samples in the whole of Saudi," he said.
"I don't think any country in this world is doing that much testing. And I guess the more you look the more you'll find."
If other countries ? even countries outside the Middle East ? conducted similar testing, they too would find MERS cases, he said. "I would not be surprised if it's in every other country in the globe."
He supported that argument with the fact that in many cases of pneumonia, the bacterial or viral cause is never found. Still, Memish's suggestion that those could be undetected MERS cases met with skepticism from infectious diseases experts.
"To suggest that cases of MERS-CoV" ? CoV stands for coronavirus ? "infections are being missed all over the world carries no epidemiologic or virologic credibility among those of us who have spent our careers tracking down global emerging infections," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
"Such a statement merely blames the rest of the world for the continued problems with transparency by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in responding to this public health crisis."..."
xhttp://www.calgaryherald.com/health/MERS+cases+likely+over+found+Saudi+because+country+tests+official/8457139/story.html
"MERS cases likely around globe, found in Saudi because country tests: official
By Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press May 31, 2013
In the world's eyes, Saudi Arabia appears to be ground zero for the new MERS coronavirus, with the country accounting for nearly 80 per cent of known cases. But the kingdom's deputy minister of health believes this virus is infecting people around the world, and other countries aren't catching cases because they aren't looking.
In a wide-ranging interview, Dr. Ziad Memish also said that while he takes the new virus seriously, he doesn't believe the outbreak deserves the type of attention it is receiving. Earlier this week, the director general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, called the new coronavirus "a threat to the entire world."
..."But ... you know, the H7N9 killed 35 people and there were 134 odd cases in a few weeks. So I think, yes, it's a concern, but not as big a concern as is being portrayed in the media."
...Despite the complaints about the kingdom's lack of transparency, Memish insisted he has been forthcoming.
"People say we're not transparent. People say we're not giving information. But as we spoke to the DG" ? the director general ? "and WHO we said everything that we are learning," Memish said.
He clearly chafes at the suggestion that the virus is coming from his country, or region.
..."If you ask why we're picking up more cases in Saudi recently, it's because we're just looking harder and harder. We're processing hundreds of samples a day from different parts of the country. So far we sampled 1,500 or 1,700 samples in the whole of Saudi," he said.
"I don't think any country in this world is doing that much testing. And I guess the more you look the more you'll find."
If other countries ? even countries outside the Middle East ? conducted similar testing, they too would find MERS cases, he said. "I would not be surprised if it's in every other country in the globe."
He supported that argument with the fact that in many cases of pneumonia, the bacterial or viral cause is never found. Still, Memish's suggestion that those could be undetected MERS cases met with skepticism from infectious diseases experts.
"To suggest that cases of MERS-CoV" ? CoV stands for coronavirus ? "infections are being missed all over the world carries no epidemiologic or virologic credibility among those of us who have spent our careers tracking down global emerging infections," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
"Such a statement merely blames the rest of the world for the continued problems with transparency by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in responding to this public health crisis."..."
