UK Edition
New outbreak of deadly 'camel flu' reported in Oman
An outbreak of a deadly respiratory illness is gathering pace in Saudi Arabia, with the country reporting more than 50 cases since the beginning of the year.
The latest figures from the Saudi Ministry of Health show 19 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) occurring in three locations in the country. There have been 29 cases of the disease in the Wadi ad-Dawasir area of the country. The World Health Organization has also reported five cases of the disease in Oman.
MERS is a relatively new disease and was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 – since then there have been 2,298 cases and 811 deaths. The outbreak exploded in 2014 when there were 662 cases worldwide.
There were just 142 cases in the whole of 2018 – including a case in the UK last summer in a visitor from Saudi Arabia – so this latest outbreak represents a significant increase in the number of cases.
MERS is a viral respiratory illness and typical symptoms include fever, cough and/or shortness of breath but more serious symptoms include respiratory failure. The mortality rate is around 35 per cent although this may be an overestimate as people with mild symptoms may not be identified.
The disease is contracted through close contact with camels but outbreaks are also associated with health care facilities and people living in the same household.
Last year WHO identified MERS as one of a number of diseases - alongside the mysterious disease X, an as yet unknown pathogen - which had the potential to spark an epidemic but for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine.
Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at Nottingham University, said that there was still no evidence that MERS could spread easily from human to human.
“MERS resides in camels, primarily young camels, and if you have close contact with a camel that’s shedding the virus you can get limited human transmission.
“But with MERS the problem is exacerbated in in environments such as hospitals where you have people in close proximity and they’re having procedures such as intubation [where a tube is introduced into the windpipe to aid breathing]. Viruses can be introduced that way,” said Prof. Ball.
Of the cases reported in Saudi Arabia five have died. And 12 reported close contact with camels
The cluster reported from Oman included five women aged between 30 and 59, all from the same family. Four of the five cases appear to be secondary, picked up from the original patient. Two of the women have died.
"While no direct contact with dromedaries [camels] has been reported by any of the cases, they resided on a farm where dromedaries and other animals were kept," the WHO said.
The WHO said an investigation into exposure to known risk factors for all of the patients is still underway and that Oman's health ministry has established a contact list of healthcare worker and family contacts in North Batinah governorate. Out of 60 family contacts 26 have been classified as high risk and are being closely monitored.
There are 119 healthcare worker contacts, and all of the high-risk ones have tested negative, said WHO.
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