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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 5, 2014 12:02 PM IST
Bahrain's health ministry announced Sunday that it plans to launch a nationwide awareness campaign on the latest outbreak of the deadly Middle Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the region. It follows similar education initiatives taken by neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia, which has reported 371 confirmed infections of the killer virus and a death toll of 107 people in the past two years, according to Xinhua.
'Bahrain has contingency plans in place to control the outbreak of coronavirus and all hospitals and health centers have been instructed to report immediately any suspected cases,' Health Minister Sadiq al-Shehabi said in a statement. The minister called his Saudi counterpart Adel Fakeih Sunday and discussed plans and strategies to rein in the virus and deal with new infections. (Read: 12 fast facts about MERS-CoV)
Shehabi stressed on a 'common road map', in both countries that cover all stakeholders, including health care workers, to control the spread of the virus. He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) accredited public health lab staff will also work round the clock to deal with any emergency. (Read: MERS-CoV update: Six new infections in Saudi Arabia)
In addition, a national campaign will soon be launched to educate citizens and foreign workers about precautionary measures. Shehabi added that cases of MERS virus are low and do not amount to a 'global epidemic', based on the WHO criteria. 'Bahrain has not registered a single case of MERS so far. Bahrain's health services are ready to deal with suspected or confirmed cases, and the protocol is adopted according to the WHO guidelines,' he said. The health ministry reported Saturday that four patients in Bahrain were suspected of having contracted the virus, but test results later showed the patients were not infected.
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.
Why we need to be worried
The problem with viruses like this is multi-fold. Vaccines and medicines are usually devised after years of planning and studying a particular pathogen so that we can contain them. Unlike seasonal influenza, healthcare professionals have no idea how to deal with unknown ailments, the way it spreads and how to contain it. The last time the world faced a situation like this was a decade ago when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) broke out near Hong Kong where a local farmer died from the disease. In the next eight months, the disease affected over eight thousand people and caused 775 deaths in 37 different countries. The more worrying fact was that it had at its peak a fatality rate of 9.6% (almost one out of every ten people affected died) and despite the fact that the disease disappeared after early 2003, it's not believed to have been eradicated and the virus can still be lurking in animals. (Read: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) should you worry?)
With inputs from IANS
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