Saudi Arabia Reports A MERS-CoV Case In Taif

#16,017

Before COVID emerged, MERS-CoV was the coronavirus of greatest concern, having infected more than 2000 people in the Middle East since 2012 and killing about 35% of them.  Carried by camels, it can spread from human-to-human in close quarters, like households and hospitals. 

But since COVID emerged, reporting on MERS from Middle East - and in particular from Saudi Arabia, where 90% of previous cases had been reported - has all but ceased. 

Granted, the Saudis have never been particularly eager to share details on the virus, or their number of cases, and have shut down reporting for months at a time in the past (see 2018's The Saudi MOH Breaks Their Silence On MERS-CoV).  

And last year, WHO EMRO went a full year without posting their regular monthly MERS update (see WHO EMRO Updates A Year's Worth Of MERS-COV Reports From Saudi Arabia).  They've since gone another 6 months without posting an update (EMRO Link). 

The Saudi MOH MERS-Cov reporting website often goes weeks without updating (today still reflecting Epi week 22, even though this is Epi Week 24), and still shows no direct link to the list of 2021 cases (of which we know of 9). 

Screenshot (today) From Saudi MOH MERS-CoV Landing page

But there is a list of 2021 cases buried on the MOH website, you just have to know where to look. 

Here we find that a case was reported last week (Epi week 23), but never posted on the MOH surveillance page.  The patient is a 63 y.o. male from Almwaith City, Taif, who had prior camel contact. 

Given that - until 2020 - we've seen an average of well over 200 cases a year out of Saudi Arabia since 2012, it is difficult to say how representative these 9 reported cases in 2021 are of their MERS-Cov situation. 

Even during the best of times Saudi Surveillance and reporting was estimated to be picking up only a fraction of the actual MERS cases in the Kingdom (see EID Journal: Estimation of Severe MERS Cases in the Middle East, 2012–2016).

While it is possible that the incidence of MERS - like influenza - has dropped precipitously since the arrival of COVID-19, it is also possible that limited, and over taxed resources have led to a reduction in case reporting.

Either way, as long as MERS circulates in camels - and occasionally jumps to humans - it remains a credible public health threat. 

And one we need better, and more consistent, surveillance and reporting on.