SARS-achtig virus duikt op MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome- coronavirus)

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26 JUNE 2013 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Saudi Arabia has announced seven additional laboratory-confirmed cases and a death in a previously confirmed case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Four cases have been detected among contacts of confirmed cases in Riyadh and the Eastern Region. They range in age from seven to 15 years, and all were asymptomatic. Two further asymptomatic cases have been record among female healthcare workers in the Eastern Region and Al-Ahsa. A seventh case has been detected in a 50 year-old female in the Eastern Region. She is currently hospitalized with pulmonary disease and her condition is considered stable.

In addition, the MoH has announced the death of a previously reported confirmed case from the Eastern Region (the 32 year-old male first reported on 23 June).

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 77 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 40 deaths.

WHO has received reports of laboratory-confirmed cases originating in the following countries in the Middle East to date: Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia and the United Kingdom also reported laboratory-confirmed cases; they were either transferred there for care of the disease or returned from the Middle East and subsequently became ill. In France, Italy, Tunisia and the United Kingdom, there has been limited local transmission among patients who had not been to the Middle East but had been in close contact with the laboratory-confirmed or probable cases.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns.

Health care providers are advised to maintain vigilance. Recent travellers returning from the Middle East who develop SARI should be tested for MERS-CoV as advised in the current surveillance recommendations. Specimens from patients’ lower respiratory tracts should be obtained for diagnosis where possible. Clinicians are reminded that MERS-CoV infection should be considered even with atypical signs and symptoms, such as diarrhoea, in patients who are immunocompromised.

Health care facilities are reminded of the importance of systematic implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC). Health care facilities that provide care for patients suspected or confirmed with MERS-CoV infection should take appropriate measures to decrease the risk of transmission of the virus to other patients, health care workers and visitors.

All Member States are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with MERS-CoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course. Investigation into the source of exposure should promptly be initiated to identify the mode of exposure, so that further transmission of the virus can be prevented.

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.

WHO continues to closely monitor the situation.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2013_06_26/en/index.html

[RAdeR]

Uit voorzorg meldplicht MERS-Coronavirus

Nieuwsbericht | 03-07-2013

Minister Edith Schippers van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport heeft op basis van deskundigenadviezen besloten uit voorzorg een meldplicht in te stellen voor het nieuwe type coronavirus MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). De meldplicht heeft tot doel een eventuele patiënt zo snel mogelijk te ontdekken en het voorkómen van verdere verspreiding van de ziekte.
Geen concrete dreiging

Er is op dit moment geen sprake van concrete dreiging in Nederland. Het gaat om een voorzorgsmaatregel omdat niet is uit te sluiten dat een reiziger naar het Midden-Oosten, waar de ziekte voorkomt, deze meeneemt naar Nederland. GGD’en, huisartsen en ziekenhuizen zijn alert en weten wat ze moeten doen als zo’n geval zich zou voordoen. In geval van een daadwerkelijke uitbraak voert de minister de landelijke regie op de bestrijding en communicatie.

Voor meer informatie over MERS-CoV: www.rivm.nl

[RAdeR]

Pandemie MERS onwaarschijnlijk
Het Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) heeft nog weinig ‘pandemisch potentieel’. De ziekte lijkt in dat opzicht een stuk minder gevaarlijk dan SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Onderzoek van Romulus Breban e.a. van het Parijse Institut Pasteur gepubliceerd in The Lancet wijst dat uit. De onderzoekers analyseerden gegevens van 55 van de inmiddels 64 bevestigde gevallen. Daaruit blijkt dat de virulentie niet zodanig is dat een epidemie of pandemie moet worden gevreesd.lees verder

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Emergency Committee meetings on MERS-CoV announced

WHO is convening an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The Emergency Committee will meet on 9 and 11 July.

IHR Emergency Committee

The Emergency Committee is made up of international experts to provide technical advice to the WHO Director-General in the context of a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). Depending on the circumstances, the Emergency Committee may advise on whether or not a PHEIC is occurring . If the Director-General determines that the event constitutes a PHEIC, the Emergency Committee will then provide advice on appropriate Temporary Recommendations of health measures to be implemented by States Parties. As a PHEIC proceeds, the Emergency Committee continues to provide advice to the Director-General on termination of the PHEIC, and the modification and termination of Temporary Recommendations. All decisions on these issues are taken by the Director-General.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - update

5 July 2013 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Saudi Arabia has announced two additional laboratory-confirmed cases and two deaths in previously confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in Saudi Arabia.

The new cases are a 69 year-old male and a 66 year-old male from Riyadh. Both were admitted to hospital on the 28 June 2013 and are currently in critical condition in an intensive care unit.

In addition, the two deaths in previously confirmed cases are a 63 year-old female from Riyadh and a 75 year-old male from Al Ahsa.

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 79 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 42 deaths.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns.

Health care providers are advised to maintain vigilance. Recent travelers returning from the Middle East who develop SARI should be tested for MERS-CoV as advised in the current surveillance recommendations. Specimens from patients’ lower respiratory tracts should be obtained for diagnosis where possible. Clinicians are reminded that MERS-CoV infection should be considered even with atypical signs and symptoms, such as diarrhea, in patients who are immunocompromised.

Health care facilities are reminded of the importance of systematic implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC). Health care facilities that provide care for patients suspected or confirmed with MERS-CoV infection should take appropriate measures to decrease the risk of transmission of the virus to other patients, health care workers and visitors.

All Member States are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with MERS-CoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course. Investigation into the source of exposure should promptly be initiated to identify the mode of exposure, so that further transmission of the virus can be prevented.

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.

WHO continues to closely monitor the situation.

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MERS-CoV is an emerging pathogen with pandemic potential with its apparent epicenter in Saudi Arabia, where millions of pilgrims will imminently congregate for two international mass gatherings. Understanding global population movements out of the Middle East through the end of this year’s Hajj could help direct anticipatory MERS-CoV surveillance and public health preparedness to mitigate its potential global health and economic impacts.

Khan K, Sears J, Hu VW, Brownstein JS, Hay S, Kossowsky D, Eckhardt R, Chim T, Berry I, Bogoch I, Cetron M. Potential for the International Spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Association with Mass Gatherings in Saudi Arabia. PLOS Currents Outbreaks. 2013 Jul 17 [last modified: 2013 Jul 17]. Edition 1. doi: 10.1371/currents.outbreaks.a7b70897ac2fa4f79b59f90d24c860b8. http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/article/assessing-risk-for-the-international-spread-of-middle-east-respiratory-syndrome-in-association-with-mass-gatherings-in-saudi-arabia/

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You may have seen some pretty scary headlines in recent days relating to a new virus that has the medical community on alert. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that can be passed between people in close contact. The condition was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, and so far most of those who have been infected have been from that region of the world.

To help people better understand what MERS is and what the medical community is doing to track and reduce its spread, Thriving recently spoke with Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital.

http://childrenshospitalblog.org/are-you-worried-about-the-mers-virus-get-the-facts-first%E2%80%A6/

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18 JULY 2013 - WHO has been informed of six additional laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Of these, two cases have been reported from Saudi Arabia and four from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Both the cases in Saudi Arabia have mild symptoms and are not hospitalized. They are from Asir region. The first case is a 26-year-old man who is a close contact with a previously laboratory-confirmed case and the second case is a 42-year-old woman who is a health care worker.

In the UAE, the four cases are health care workers from two hospitals in Abu Dhabi who took care of an earlier laboratory-confirmed patient. Of these, two cases, a 28-year-old man and 30-year-old woman, did not develop symptoms of illness. The other two cases, both women of 30 and 40 years old, had mild upper respiratory symptoms and are in stable condition.

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 88 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 45 deaths.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns.

Health care providers are advised to maintain vigilance. Recent travelers returning from the Middle East who develop SARI should be tested for MERS-CoV as advised in the current surveillance recommendations.

Specimens from patients’ lower respiratory tracts should be obtained for diagnosis where possible. Clinicians are reminded that MERS-CoV infection should be considered even with atypical signs and symptoms, such as diarrhea, in patients who are immunocompromised.

Health care facilities are reminded of the importance of systematic implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC). Health care facilities that provide care for patients suspected or confirmed with MERS-CoV infection should take appropriate measures to decrease the risk of transmission of the virus to other patients, health care workers and visitors.

All Member States are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with MERS-CoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course. Investigation into the source of exposure should promptly be initiated to identify the mode of exposure, so that further transmission of the virus can be prevented.

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.

WHO has convened an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) to advise the Director-General on the status of the current situation. The Emergency Committee, which comprises international experts from all WHO Regions, unanimously advised that, with the information now available, and using a risk-assessment approach, the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not at present been met.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2013_07_18/en/index.html

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Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 88 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 45 deaths.

Maandag 22 juli 2013: 90 vastgestelde infecties met MERS-CoV, inclusief 45 doden.

De twee nieuwste infecties zijn inmiddels doorgegeven aan WHO, het betreft:

59 jarige vrouw, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, opgenomen in ziekenhuis, met comorbiteit

41 jarige man, Saudi Arabia, Al-Asha, opgenomen in ziekenhuis, met comorbiteit

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Volume 19, Number 10—October 2013
Letter

To the Editor: The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002–03 and the subsequent implication of bats as reservoir hosts of the causative agent, a coronavirus (CoV), prompted numerous studies of bats and the viruses they harbor. A novel clade 2c betacoronavirus, termed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)–CoV, was recently identified as the causative agent of a severe respiratory disease that is mainly affecting humans on the Arabian Peninsula (1). Extending on previous work (2), we described European Pipistrellus bat–derived CoVs that are closely related to MERS-CoV (3). We now report the identification of a South Africa bat derived CoV that has an even closer phylogenetic relationship with MERS-CoV.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/10/13-0946_article.htm

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/article/19/10/13-0946-Techapp1.pdf

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RIYADH – Saudi and British scientists provided the most detailed picture yet of the clinical and laboratory characteristics of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, revealing a wide range of clinical symptoms and an extremely high death rate among patients with co-existing medical conditions.

The new research, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, also reveals some important differences with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130730175320