UAE’s Proximity to Saudi Arabia
# 8403
Over the past 24 hours the World Health Organization has released two GAR (Global Alert & Response) updates on a pair of MERS cases reported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first case is a contact of a previously reported case:
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update
Disease Outbreak News
25 March 2014 - On 20 March 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) notified WHO of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Details of the case provided to WHO are as follows:
- A 49 year-old man from Abu Dhabi with underlying medical conditions. He was admitted to a hospital on 27 February and was discharged on 9 March following improvement in his condition. On 16 March, he was readmitted to the hospital and is currently in a critical condition. Laboratory-confirmation was done on 19 March. The patient has no history of recent travel. He has no reported contact with animals but had contact with a recent laboratory-confirmed case notified to WHO on 11 March. Both the patients received treatment in the same hospital on 1 March. Further epidemiological investigation is ongoing.
The previously announced `contact’ case was described on March 12th by the WHO as:
The patient is a 68 year-old man from Abu Dhabi, UAE. He became ill on 1 March, was admitted to a hospital on 3 March and is currently in a stable condition. The patient has underlying medical conditions. He had no contact with other known MERS-CoV cases and had no travel history. The patient owns a farm that he visits daily, and where he had contact with animals, including camels which he breeds.
The second (unrelated case), announced today, reaches a bit of a milestone in the WHO’s case count; the 200th MERS-CoV case reported by the World Health Organization.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update
Disease Outbreak News
26 March 2014 - On 23 March 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) notified WHO of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Details of the case provided to WHO are as follows:
- A 40 year-old man from Oman with underlying medical conditions. He was first admitted to a hospital in Muscat on 15 February and was then readmitted to hospital in Abu Dhabi on 17 March. His condition deteriorated and he died on 24 March 2014. Laboratory-confirmation was done on 21 March. The patient had no history of recent travel outside of Oman and the UAE, and had no reported contact with animals or a laboratory-confirmed case. Further epidemiological investigation in ongoing.
Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 200 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 85 deaths.
According to the Coronavirus Case Listing maintained by Sharon Sanders at FluTrackers, this marks the 19th case reported out of the UAE.
