鈥淟et鈥檚 hope this bug doesn鈥檛 make it to Mecca.鈥� The bug in question is MERS, the coronavirus that emerged last year in the Arabian Peninsula.
of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has good reason to be concerned. The virus is so far known to have infected more than 40 people, some of whom haven鈥檛 apparently been in contact with an infected person or potentially infected animal.
In an epidemiological analysis, the World 午夜福利1000集合 Organization concludes that this means there could be spreading the virus in the general population. 鈥淭he continued appearance of cases that are not part of larger clusters, and who do not have a history of animal contact, increases concerns about possible community transmission,鈥� they report.
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This week announced that a 66-year-old man had died and his two children were ill with MERS after returning from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They鈥檇 had no contact with known cases.
The WHO says Saudi Arabia is investigating. But there is widespread frustration at the lack of information coming out of the region. 鈥淭here are still no reports on serological [antibody] studies in humans and animals,鈥� says Fouchier, who first identified the MERS virus last year.
Testing blood banks or taking random blood samples in hospitals to look for antibodies left behind by MERS infections would show how widespread the infection is in the population. 鈥淭hose tests and assistance have been offered repeatedly by various laboratories,鈥� says Fouchier, but no offer has yet been taken up.
鈥淢any uncertainties鈥� still continue with the investigation of cases in the Arabian Peninsula and Jordan,鈥� by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Copenhagen, Denmark. 鈥淚t is unusual to have such a degree of uncertainty at this stage in an outbreak.鈥�
Concerns now focus on the mass religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia, which could spread any virus carried in the population, and are scheduled for and .
