WHO MERS Update – Saudi Arabia July 3rd

 

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The World Health Organization has published a DON update describing 6 recent MERS cases in Saudi Arabia;  two from Riyadh and four linked to the ongoing outbreak in Hofuf which started in mid-April.

 

No known risk exposures are listed for the two Riyadh cases, highlighting the fact that the source of many community-acquired infections remains elusive.   As we discussed yesterday, there remain major gaps in our understanding of how this virus is spreading – particularly outside of the hospital environment.

The four Hofuf cases involve a HCW at a facility where MERS cases are being treated, the relative of an infected HCW, and two patients who appear to have contracted the virus while hospitalized in facilities treating MERS cases.

 

The Hofuf cluster – which now runs roughly 40 cases – has shown signs of slowing with no new cases reported from Hofuf in more than a week, and only 1 case reported from nearby Dammam two days ago. It is  unknown whether the Dammam case is related to the Hofuf cluster. 

 

 

 

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia

Disease outbreak news
3 July 2015

Between 19 and 30 June 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 6 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.

Details of the cases are as follows:

1. A 65-year-old female from Riyadh city developed symptoms on 15 June and was admitted to hospital on 25 June. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 27 June. Currently, she is in critical condition in ICU. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.
2. A 40-year-old male from Riyadh city developed symptoms on 24 June and was admitted to hospital on 26 June. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 27 June. Currently, he is in critical condition in ICU. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.
3. A 41-year-old male from Hofuf city developed symptoms on 19 June and tested positive for MERS-CoV on 21 June. He is a family relative of a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that worked in a hospital with an ongoing MERS-CoV outbreak and that was reported in a previous DON on 23 June (case n. 1). The patient, who has comorbidities, was in home isolation; however, as symptoms worsened, he was admitted to hospital on 23 June. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to onset of symptoms. Currently, he is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.
4. A 60-year-old, non-national, female health care worker from Hofuf city developed symptoms on 14 June, was admitted to hospital on 15 June and tested positive for MERS-CoV on 19 June. The patient, who has comorbidities, works in a hospital that has been experiencing a MERS-CoV outbreak. Currently, the patient is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward. Investigation of possible links with MERS-CoV cases admitted to this hospital is ongoing.
5. A 61-year-old female from Hofuf city developed symptoms on 30 May and, on the same day, was admitted to a hospital with an ongoing MERS-CoV outbreak. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 17 June. Currently, she is in critical condition admitted to ICU. Investigation of possible links with MERS-CoV cases admitted to the hospital is ongoing. Investigation of history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is also ongoing.
6. A 52-year-old male from Hofuf city developed symptoms on 16 June while admitted to hospital for an unrelated medical condition since 29 April. This hospital has been experiencing a MERS-CoV outbreak. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 18 June. Currently, the patient is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward. Investigation of possible links with MERS-CoV cases admitted to the hospital is ongoing.

Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.

The National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also notified WHO of the death of a MERS-CoV case that was reported in a previous DON on 23 June (case n. 3).

Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,363 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 487 related deaths.