Saturday, February 27, 2016

Saudi MOH: 1 Fatal Primary MERS Case (Camel Contact)












#11,072


Saudi Arabia's uptick in MERS cases continues with their 7th case reported in a week, this time a 50 y.o. male with camel contact who has already died.



Although we see posthumous reporting of cases from time to time, it isn't clear whether these cases were diagnosed late into their illness, or whether the  MOH simply delayed reporting them.  

A late diagnosis has the potential for putting more people (particularly HCWs and hospital patients) at risk of exposure, and in the past has led to large nosocomial outbreaks. 

Hopefully we'll get a better sense of the timeline of this case when the WHO publishes an update.