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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : September 14, 2014 1:06 PM IST
The family of an Indian expatriate, who died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) corona virus in Saudi Arabia, has refused to receive his body in India, amid fears of contracting the deadly disease, a media report said Saturday. MERS is a serious viral respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus and can be transmitted by air to humans.
Dasharati Sattaih, who worked in a maintenance company in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province that had contracts with several hospitals, contracted the viral disease while on the job and later died June 20, Arab News reported. The family of Sattaih, who hails from the Adilabad district of the south Indian state of Telangana, has refused to claim the body after they learned from misleading sources that they could be infected with the disease if they touched the body. The employer has been cooperating to repatriate the body to India but the family has refused to complete the formalities. This has led to the body lying unclaimed in a morgue, the report stated.
Repatriation or burial of an expatriate worker in the Arab nation can be a complicated process which can only be eased with the cooperation of the kin. In a related incident, another Indian expatriate who died after a prolonged illness in Saudi Arabia has been ruled out to be MERS infected. The body of Akrim Singh from Punjab, was finally repatriated home. MERS is considered a deadly but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus, which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected thousands of people.
The MERS virus emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and so far cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Tunisia and parts of Europe. The Saudi government has been criticised by international health experts over its handling of the disease, which has spread to several Middle Eastern countries, Asia, and the US. As many as 300 people have succumbed to the deadly virus out of 733 cases detected in the Gulf nation since the first case was registered in 2012.
What exactly is the MERS-CoV?
MERS stands for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome which is a viral illness that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.It is caused by a respiratory virus, a previously unseen variant of the coronavirus. It's very similar to a strain of coronavirus found in bats and not the same as the SARS virus that circulated in 2003.
MERS-CoV fact sheet
1. Spread by animals in contact with bats
Mostly carried by bats but also some other vertebrates, the MERS Coronovirus spreads very rapidly in animals when they are kept together in confined and crowded places like live-animal markets, slaughter houses and while transporting animals by ships. Close and prolong contact with infected animals, which may not show any symptoms, helps virus jump to human. As it happened in SARS most of the animal traders were found to have SARS antibodies without any symptoms. This is a stage of adaptation to a new host (Inter-species transfer) which led to possible viral genetic mutation to adapt to its new human host. Same may be true for MERS-CoV.
2. It doesn't spread rapidly among humans
MERS is not transmitted very readily from person-to-person. This may occur after close and prolonged contact with infected patient in closed environment like home, hospitals etc. Infection spreads by coughing, droplet infection. But it can become air borne, meaning spread by air in hospitals when infected patient is given pressurized oxygen, intubated or procedures like bronchoscopy or during the use of pressurized devises like dental drill etc making healthcare workers more susceptible.
3. Infection control in hospitals and clinics can prevent spread
Healthcare workers getting infected by MERS are reported on a regular basis which shows failure of observing stringent Infection Control Procedures in the hospitals. It is the responsibility of the hospitals to educate their staff, supervise and implement strict Infection Control and isolation procedures. Infected healthcare workers take the infection to their family and wider community. Read 12 fast facts about MERS-CoV
With inputs from IANS
Image source: Getty Images
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