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| Credit WHO EMRO |
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Once a month the WHO's EMRO (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office) attempts to summarize MERS activity in the Middle East - and around the world - based on what is officially reported by individual Ministries of Health to the World Health Organization.
Case counts often differ between these monthly summaries and the data we've been able to glean from MOH reports. Often this is due to delays in reporting to the WHO, although other factors can come into play.This month, WHO EMRO reports 29 new MERS Cases reported by the Saudis in April, while the Saudi Daily count (see below) suggests only 22 new cases. As the March report appeared to be short 7 cases, it is likely some or all of these 7 extra cases actually fell in March, but were not reported to WHO until sometime in April.
Given the early May cut-off date for inclusion in this summary, next month we may discover that some of April's cases were not included in this report as well.
MERS situation update, April 2019
Read the MERS situation update for April 2019
- At the end of April 2019, a total of 2428 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), including 838 associated deaths (case–fatality rate: 34.5%) were reported globally; the majority of these cases were reported from Saudi Arabia (2037 cases, including 760 related deaths with a case–fatality rate of 37.3%). During the month of April, a total of 29 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS were reported globally. All the 29 cases were reported from Saudi Arabia with 11 associated deaths.
- This month, Saudi Arabia has not reported any new cases related to the Wadi Aldwaser city outbreak. The outbreak has presumed to have stopped due to the effective response measures taken by Saudi Arabia. The country reported a new outbreak this month, in Al-Khafji city and one of its hospitals with 13 reported cases and 6 associated deaths. The cases are linked to two clusters: the first cluster has 10 cases (and 3 deaths) including 5 health care workers that contracted the infection in the hospital (with 1 death), three hospital acquired cases (with 2 deaths) and one household contact.
- The demographic and epidemiological characteristics of reported cases, when compared during the same corresponding period of 2013 to 2019, do not show any significant difference or change, except for the increase in the number of secondary cases and healthcare worker cases due to the current hospital outbreak.
- The age group 50–59 years continues to be at highest risk for acquiring infection of primary cases. The age group 30–39 years is most at risk for secondary cases. The number of deaths is higher in the age group 50–59 years for primary cases and 70–79 years for secondary cases.
Read the latest MERS update, April 2019
These reports contain a good deal of data, and are worth reading in their entirety. One interesting metric shows that the past 6 months (Nov 18 - April 19) - with 160 cases - has been the 3rd heaviest MERS winter on record, and the busiest since 2014-15.
So far, we've not seen any indication of efficient or sustained transmission of the MERS virus in the community, but the past few months has seen a noticeable uptick in the number of household and/or healthcare facility clusters.
While this might indicate a change in the virus's behavior, it is also possible that after two years of decreased MERS activity, the quality and consistency of MERS infection control in hospitals - and public's concerns over contact with camels - has lessened.With the Holy month of Ramadan now into week two, and the Hajj only 90 days away, hopefully these recent outbreaks will serve as a wake-up call to the Saudis, and everyone else in the Middle East, where this virus circulates.
