WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/05/18/who_warns_saudi_coronavirus_may_be_spreading.html


WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading
The World Health Organization issues a blunt assessment of the coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia, acknowledging the virus may be spreading from person to person.

By: Helen Branswell The Canadian Press, Published on Sat May 18 2013

The World Health Organization has issued a blunt assessment of the coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia, acknowledging for the first time that there are concerns the virus may be spreading from person to person, at least in a limited way.

The statement called for urgent investigations to find the source of the virus and learn how it is infecting people. And it reminded countries they have a duty to rapidly report cases and related information to the WHO...

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

So what are they not telling us? And what are they planning to do with the Haj (Oct. 13-Oct. 18) if this does start spreading in a more efficient way? Just screening for high temps is not going to do the job.

 

[AnnaLisa]

Re: WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

Ramadan is July 8th as well. I believe they are expecting 2 million to visit that as well? Scary stuff!

 

[Catbird]

Re: WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

Ramadan, one of the peak times for the Umrah pilgrimage, runs from July 8 through Aug. 7th.

I posted an article (http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205996) reporting that the head of the Haj and Umrah committee requested that the MoH require testing of pilgrims coming from the Eastern Province. But the MoH said that it won't be done:

"...Jeddah Health Director Dr. Sami Badawood said the Health Ministry does not intend to make pilgrims arriving from the Eastern Province through the King Abdelazziz Airport to undergo such medical tests for coronavirus...?This is sufficient precautionary measures for this disease in the present situation,? he said.

He clarified that the present procedures taken at airports has come after the recommendation by the World Health Organization...".

I wonder if Saudi Arabia is waiting for the WHO to recommend testing, or if they will initiate it themselves. I also wonder what kind of testing they could do, given the new recommendation for bronchial testing instead of nasal swabs.

 

[AnnaLisa]

Re: WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

That's a whole lot of people moving in and out of the country, and a whole lot of airports... worldwide. :/

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading

Based on the publicly available information, there is no doubt that nCoV can spread from human to human. In the two clusters in the United Kingdom and France the index case in both clusters was infected while traveling to the Arabian Peninsula. The additional cases in both the United Kingdom and France were cases of human-to-human transmission, and in France, nonsocomial (hospital) transmission.

We have seen several clusters in Saudi Arabia, the most recent representing numerous patients and health care workers in one or more hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (link).

At this stage, Saudi Arabia needs to be concentrating on limiting human-to-human transmission while caring for infected patients in hospitals.