Reported Cases of MERS virus infection increasing

[Bob]

United Arab Emirates, UAE mers-nCoV update

68 people have been infected since March 2013 when the country’s first "official" case of MERS was recognized. 10 have officially died in United Arab Emirates (northeast of Saudi Arabia).


WHO questions HOW COME Saudi hasn't reported?

The World Health Organization and other experts are looking for answers to explain how Saudi Arabia missed or failed to report a substantial number of MERS cases and deaths over the past year.

Several experts praised the kingdom's health ministry for making that must have been a difficult disclosure, revealing on Tuesday that the country had not previously reported an additional 113 cases and 92 deaths caused by the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus.

The health ministry statement referred to strengthening systems for catching cases in future, but did not explain if these were missed or were deliberately not disclosed. Under the International Health Regulations, each case of a disease like MERS must be reported to the WHO within 24 hours of discovery.

ref- http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mers-c...ions-1.2664418

[Bob]

Saudi Arabia says, OK We will test ALL livestock, not just camels for Mers-nCov virus.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/582041

The Kingdom has started testing camels in the country for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to Minister of Agriculture Fahd Balghuneim.

Speaking at a workshop in Riyadh recently on registering and numbering livestock in the country, Balghuneim said the ministry would start testing all livestock in the Kingdom starting next week to make sure they do not have MERS.

He said there would be coordination with the Saudi Wildlife Authority to take samples from wild animals kept in nature reserves to determine the level of coronavirus infection in the Kingdom.
He said there is no suitable equipment to conduct speedy tests for coronavirus. Officials have to take blood or mucus samples, which takes a long time.

The numbering of livestock will include sheep and camels in Badia through contractors working for the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.

One of the things apparently that the Ministry of Agriculture does NOT realize, is SHEEP which he is thinking needs to be tested, do not harbor MERS, but GOATS will more so than even Camels.

I wonder who is getting him his data?

See GOATS replicate MERS better than Camels as a reservoir for the virus:
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post838808

[Sidney]

post deleted, was on a rant. :/

[Bob]

[... post edited...]

This MERS event is an OUTBREAK. And it has foci in various countries, up to 22 countries so far. The number is climbing, and it has been pointed out that where it has clustered is where people will be gathering shortly at the Hajj. That is 2-4 million people, that could be involved with exposure. How many could be exposed is unknown.

There is a thread started on the Mers/Sars K22 solution which is not run by Merk or Lily. The K22 breakthrough not only appears to address Mers/Sars CoronaViruses, it could very well as well be useful across the board for a whole host of viral issues.

[Sidney]

post edit

[Bob]

Abstract
Replicative capacity of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was assessed in cell lines derived from livestock and peridomestic small mammals on the Arabian Peninsula.

Only cell lines originating from goats and camels showed efficient replication of MERS-CoV. These results provide direction in the search for the intermediate host of MERS-CoV.

that's quoted from the CDC Feb, 2024 http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/...82_article.htm

For some reason, this article is being bypassed, by main stream media, with the concentration of dialog saying "IT'S from Camels".

That's an interesting vision, isn't it? Don't have camels, why worry, will never go to the Mideast, why worry? Think about that spin..

Statistic:

In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Goats are rapidly becoming pets.

The world currently contains more than 25 million camels, nearly all of them domesticated and thus in regular close contact with people.

That is a MAJOR difference in numbers, and GOATS are prevalent all over the world, much more distributed, and treated in many cases as family pets.

National Geographic, certainly we would easily "believe" NatGeo when they talk about the MERS Camel Virus - it's from camels and bats doncha know? Why we certainly don't come in contact with camels and bats, so why worry?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...-bats-disease/

About the CoronaVirus Family -
The CoronaVirus variant calld "SARS" spreads easily enough that more than 8,000 individuals were diagnosed with SARS in 2003 killing 800 people. It only had a mortality rate of 10%, not the 48% currently being reported for the MERS-nCov variant of the coronavirus.

The virus family mutates and is spread by contact from bodily fluids, such as coughs or sneezes, spit, kissing and so forth. It can be spread by eating contaminated raw milk, undercooked meats from these animals, or close contact.

Saudi Arabia on their current medical section of their webpage, says COOK thoroughly the meat products, and boil the camel milk. They are saying take the precautions.

The genetic coronavirus mutation apparently progressed and split from the Jordanian strain (that could have been the origination foci), and the Saudi strain variant remains the epicenter for the outbreak. (This split progression and various serotypes were shown several posts back).

Three-quarters of the kingdom's camels too have shown positive now (in Saudi Arabia).

In the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, people are in close contact for extended lengths of time.

World Health Organization officials have said that they are concerned that this year's Hajj could spread the virus worldwide.

The early variant of the virus prior to mutation has been observed since 1992, in camels. Saudi researchers, working with a Center for Infection and Immunity team led by virologist Thomas Briese, were able to accumulate an enormous amount of camel serum—some of it fresh, and some, pulled from storage, dating back as far as 1992. Even that serum, the stuff more than two decades old, contained MERS-CoV antibodies.

The conclusion? This virus, or something nearly identical, has been infecting Saudi Arabia's dromedaries for at least 20 years.

SOMETHING, or someone through genetic engineering, caused a mutation and this mutation was released into the human population.

Camel Population and distribution - (note the distribution of camels and the outbreak locations)

Somalia, one of the poorest Arab nations, emerged as the richest in camels, which were estimated at around 7.13 million, just below half of the combined Arab camel wealth, said AOAD, an affiliate of the Cairo-based Arab League.

But the figure was slightly below the number of its camels of around 7.14 million in 2001. It also means the country has an average one camel per 1.4 persons as the African nation’s population stood at nearly 10.3 million at the end of 2008.

Sudan, one of the largest Arab countries, had the second highest number of camels, standing at about 4.4 million at the end of 2008.

But its camel-to-population ratio is far below that in Somalia given Sudan’s relatively high population of around 38.2 million. This means the east African country has an average camel for every 8.6 persons.

The report showed Mauritania, another poor Arab nation, had the third largest numbers of camels in the region, estimated at 1.49 million.

Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest Arab members and the world’s top oil exporter, had the fourth largest camel wealth with around 869,000. It was followed by the UAE which had nearly 378,000 camels.

Both Gulf countries have recorded increases in their camel wealth, which stood at around 724,000 and 265,000 respectively in 2001.

The number of camels stood at about 373,000 in Yemen, 295,000 in Algeria, 192,000 in Egypt, 180,000 in Morocco, 170,000 in Libya, 124,000 in Oman, 72,000 in Tunisia, 68,000 in Djibouti and 59,000 in war-torn Iraq.

Bahrain, which has the smallest area in the Arab world, had the lowest number of camels, standing at around 2,000, according to AOAD.

[Bob]

Canada hands over biological containment lab to Caribbean Health Agency - May 24th, 2014


from: http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/medical_...health-agency/

Canada has stated:

"In our modern age, where global travel is routine and disease knows no boundaries, a well-equipped, safe and secure biological laboratory is an essential tool in the fight against infectious disease,” Gerard Latulippe, the high commissioner for Canada to Trinidad & Tobago, said. “

"As underscored by ongoing outbreaks of diseases such as the Chikungunya here in the Caribbean, as well as Ebola in West Africa, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the Middle East, isolated disease threats can very quickly become regional or global menaces, presenting serious threats to the health, safety and security of the people of the world.”

"The lab will be able to rapidly identify samples of such diseases as yellow fever, West Nile virus, rabies, hantavirus, anthrax, drug resistant MTB and emerging infectious diseases with epidemic potential. It will also be able to handle other biological-risk agents and materials of unknown origin."

Manufactured by Germfree and provided in cooperation with the Pan American Health Organization (PAGO)/World Health Organization (WHO), the facility is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region. The Government of Canada officially handed over a new biological containment laboratory to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) on Tuesday.

The Biosafety Level 3 facility will provide new capabilities for rapidly detecting and responding to disease outbreaks.

Apparently creating a Biosafety Level 3 facility for the Caribbean region is important.

[Bob]

MERS Virus Found in Camel Milk - Qatar issues warning.

Friday, June 6, 2014 - 5:00pm

The virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has been found in camel milk. Scientists don’t know whether infected milk can sicken people, but experts say the results are reason enough to warn against drinking raw camel milk, a widespread tradition in the Middle East. The Qatari government has already issued new guidelines recommending that milk be boiled before consumption.

The new findings come from a group of researchers at Qatar's Supreme Council of Health; the country's Ministry of Environment; Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. They were announced at a press conference in Doha on Wednesday, and a paper about them was submitted to the journal Eurosurveillance today, says Erasmus MC virologist Chantal Reusken, the first author.

The researchers also discovered that almost one in 10 people who come in contact with camels on the job have antibodies against MERS, a sign that they were infected with the virus at some point..

ref: http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacif...und-camel-milk

[Bob]

MERS-nCoV infection now confirmed present in camels in Kuwait

ref: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...s-virus-camels

Saudi Arabia is happy saying no new deaths nor confirmed human infection in two days.

Kuwait though is saying the virus is appearing in camels. Of a particular test of 83 diagnosed specimens (read as 83 sick camels with samples taken and submitted for analysis), 5 were confirmed as infected with the virus. As this virus in camels can manifest or not manifest just as the level of fatality and body reaction in humans varies (apparently with differences in the immune system, genetics, age of patient, co-commitment factors) that amount of confirmed infection may increase as the animals develop more severe symptoms. The period of time when the "test" is taken can be too soon for the target markers to appear, complicating diagnosis.

In the Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait will become the fifth country on the Arabian Peninsula to find MERS-CoV in camels, following Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Later in the report, the "analysis" of 5 of 12 camels was showing a positive result in a test called "seroneutralization testing". It was not clear if 83 camels provided the specimens or 12 camels, but when the reporting was done, the official statement was 5 of 12 camels had the infection. That's pretty high.

[Bob]

UK Government update on MERS-nCoV outbreak(s)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/u...umrah-and-hajj

As of 9 June 2014, the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia has reported 700 cases of MERS, including 287 deaths, occurring mainly among residents.

Pilgrims returning from Hajj and Umrah with flu-like symptoms including fever and cough, or shortness of breath within 14 days of being in the Middle East, should contact their GP without delay and inform them of their travel.

MERS-CoV is a new type of coronavirus, first identified in a Middle Eastern citizen in 2012. Although cases continue to be reported from the Middle East, no new cases of MERS have been detected (reported) in the UK since the cases linked to the Middle East in February 2013.

"We advise travelers, particularly those with underlying or chronic medical conditions, to avoid contact with camels in the Middle East and practise good hand and respiratory hygiene to reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses."

[Bob]

Fox News saying Drink More Camel Milk

hmmmm, er yummy, MERS for the Masses - new marketing campaign by MSM

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/0...-drink-future/ as insane as it seems understanding the current outbreak of MERS-nCoV across the world, Fox news reports that it is healthy and good for you to drink Camel Milk (although it currently costs ONLY $18 per pint, and tastes like "mother's milk", but a bit too salty..)

Their article - Is camel milk the health drink of the future?

"Could camel's milk be the health drink of the future? Dr. Frank King hopes so. He currently has 23 camels on his farm near Asheville, NC, a mix of humped dromedaries and double-humped Bactrians that are milked by hand—no crouching or seat needed.

"The creatures' milk has less cholesterol than cow's milk, and it's got more protein, vitamin C, and iron, per scientific studies, the Citizen-Times reports. And "the milk is tasty," says King, who describes the dromedaries' milk as the saltier and creamier of the two."

Today on Fox News Sunday, the medical health report, two doctors were commenting on this "revelation of the new 'health drink'".

It seemed that er, MERS, in light of that, no way would they just go out and drink it.

One doctor said paraphrasing, you know it is not Kosher, and he will not recommend it. Dr. Marc Siegel, Dr. David Samadi expressed how they felt about Camel Milk.

We can only wonder what MSM's programming directives will show us next week.

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/americ...nday-housecall

[Bob]

Count-Down Clock starts ticking.. we are now there.

Hajj season, began June 28 with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. HAJJ officially starts in October this year.

Over the next three months, some 12 million Muslim pilgrims from around the world — including an estimated 11,000 from the United States — are expected to travel to the sacred city of Mecca in western Saudi Arabia, 3 million of whom will perform hajj, a duty for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford the journey.

This mass gathering greatly increases the potential for MERS to spread when the pilgrims return home. To date, 701 cases have been reported globally, with close to 300 reported lives lost to the virus since July 2012, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). How many more have gone un-reported or "ignored" by health officials?

ref: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinion...rchpatent.html

Israel Says No Worries

Now why is that? Designer Virus, genetic tailored design to not effect the select chosen ones?

ref: http://www.timesofisrael.com/as-musl...-is-no-danger/

The reference in the times of Israel (above) clearly contains DISINFORMATION. It mentions NO cases in Jordan or Lebanon, and data proven by scientific analysis says JORDAN was where the first variant of this strain (of several) has appeared.. (http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...report-14-more and http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News...in-Jordan.html )

"Grotto said that on their return to Israel, hajjis will be encouraged to report any MERS-like symptoms to their local healthcare provider and seek medical attention.

He was confident that Israel’s health care system was capable of handling multiple cases of MERS should Israeli citizens return from the hajj infected with it. Doctors at hospitals nationwide have been made aware of the situation and of protocols for reporting MERS cases to the Health Ministry, he said.

“We believe we would be able to both identify suspected cases if they will appear, and then we would diagnose them and then, of course, put them in isolation,” Grotto added.

Grotto said the Israeli Health Ministry was collaborating with the WHO and was receiving updates about MERS cases.. "

MEANWHILE,

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is suggesting ONLY those who are capable of resisting the MERS-nCoV virus travel this year..

ref: http://observerbd.com/details.php?id=26455

KSA asks to send Hajj pilgrims only capable of resisting MERS

Saudi Arabia has sent a letter to Bangladesh government asking it to send only those Hajj pilgrims capable of resisting MERS, Religious Affairs secretary Md Babul Hasan said Wednesday.

Bangladesh news reports that the Saudi foreign ministry sent the warning letter to the Bangladesh religious affairs ministry through the foreign ministry on Tuesday.

If the virus infects those who are 60 years or more, they are likely to die, the letter from Saudi Arabia says.

It also urged the government to take special preventive measures for children and old people.

Mers, has spread to 22 countries, including Bangladesh, from the Middle-East.

Early Bangladesh confirmed the first case of MERS, and quickly, 2 recently died in Bangladesh.

[Bob]

AIRPORTS on Alert and warning instructions circulated

Shame they didn't have that little picture warning plastered in airports when I came back with the Mers_nCoV infection. Not that it would have made any difference, but possibly the doctors who looked into the infection wouldn't have been so insincere and non-caring, or taking seriously how the virus kills.

ref: http://www.aviationpros.com/article/...e-for-pandemic

Leading Aviation publications now are starting to say to prepare for a Pandemic.

Dr. Kamran Khan, an infectious disease physician, warns these numbers will likely escalate as pilgrims pour into the Makkah Region in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. More pilgrims are expected to arrive with the approach of the fasting month of Ramadan, which started in June. But he predicts numbers will really rocket when pilgrims come for Haj, the largest annual religious gathering worldwide, which takes place in October.

“There are millions of pilgrims from around the world about to converge into Saudi Arabia, where there is an outbreak of MERS,” he says. “This disease is a cousin of SARS. It is not as contagious, but it’s more deadly. And there is no vaccine or treatment for it.”

While this infection doesn’t spread as easily as influenza, it’s still a concern at the nation’s ports.

Airports in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego have responded by posting health warnings for travelers alerting them to the potentially deadly disease.

Dr. Nicki Pesik, a medical officer in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, agrees. “We are in a globally connected world and one infected person can carry a disease to any place in the world in 24 hours.”

For this reason airports need to be ever vigilant and ready with a plan of action should disease strike.

To aid airports in preventing or delaying the spread of disease, Khan has developed a tool that aims to address social and health issues associated with the globalization of infectious diseases.

Bio.Diaspora monitors infectious disease activity around the globe, connects it with information on global mobility, and contextualizes that information with other data sets that include demography, animal and insect populations, real-time climate conditions from satellite data, social media, and global travel patterns.

Plan Ahead

Prevention, however, can only go so far. Microbes have an incubation period from the time an individual is exposed to a given disease to when they develop signs and symptoms of illness. In today’s globally connected world a contagious traveler may visit another country and return home before they show any signs of disease.

“Even with illnesses that have really, really short incubation periods, like 24 to 48 hours, it’s still slower than the time it takes to circumnavigate the globe,” Khan says. “That’s what makes this a really big challenge. The speed of travel is faster than the incubation period of microbes.”

For this reason, the CDC encourages airports, airport businesses and airport partners to conduct planning exercises for outbreaks, according to Pesik.

These disaster drills should include critical partners across the airport and in the community, such as industry officials; emergency management agencies, including EMS, police and fire; state and local health authorities; and federal agencies. “At emergency planning exercises, the CDC can provide guidance to help airports respond to sick travelers during outbreaks that can affect the community,” Pesik says.

These exercises can help airports develop a preparedness plan that identifies a clear contact point for policy preparedness and the individuals responsible for operational implementation of the plan. The resulting strategy must focus on communications, screening, logistics, equipment, entry/exit controls, and coordination with local public health, according to Airports Council International (ACI) guidelines developed during the H1N1 scare in 2009.


Community Communications

The CDC has reported two confirmed MERS cases in the United States, one in Indiana and the other in Florida. The two cases are unrelated but can be traced back to Saudia Arabia, reports the CDC.

In response, 16 of the nation’s airports, deemed most at risk for transmitting this infectious disease, have posted signage that alerts travelers to the MERS threat. Those heading to the Arabian Peninsula should take appropriate actions to prevent exposure.

“Wash your hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not available use alcohol-based sanitizers, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth,” the signs say.

“The best way of preventing the spread of disease can also be the simplest,” Pesik explains.

“Help each person take everyday precautions. Remind them to wash their hands and avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouths.”

Appropriate signage should also recommend that individuals delay travel if they feel ill, and not travel until their symptoms subside.

“Unfortunately, many individuals may not show symptoms when they move through the airport and by the time they fall sick they’re already in the United States,” she says.

During an outbreak, airports will want to distribute these public health messages to travelers, airport employees and staff.

The messages can be placed on the airport’s website, intranet and social media pages as well as on signage inside the airport itself.

“These systems allow airports to provide messages and updated information quickly as a situation evolves or changes,” says Pesik, who notes during an outbreak the CDC provides up-to-date health advisory messages to display at airport security, in Customs and Border Protection screening locations, and international baggage claim areas.

The CDC also provides training to Customs and Border Protection agents and airline employees to help them recognize ill travelers and report them to the CDC.

A section called Travelers’ Health at www.cdc.gov is one airports can provide to employees and travelers. The page explains how to prevent illness while traveling.

To help keep travelers healthy, airports should also make sure all restrooms are fully stocked with an ample supply of soap and place hand-sanitizing stations throughout the facility, says Pesik.

Infection control also involves keeping the facility as clean as possible. “A [mass transit] facility can go from clean to dirty in a matter of minutes,” says Becky Gawin, deputy director of Facilities and Services with the City of Phoenix Aviation Department.

In this role, she oversees aviation’s service contracts, which includes a contract for custodial services at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Here 200 custodians clean the airport’s 5 million square feet of terminal space, from top to bottom, every single day.

While constant cleaning is essential in the busy mass transit facility, during an outbreak these services become even more critical. Gawin says Phoenix Sky Harbor puts cleaners on the concourses 24 hours a day, and some of these cleaners are assigned to constantly wipe high-touch surfaces such as handrails, chair arms, door handles and so on. To keep infections from spreading, high-touch surfaces must be identified and cleaned with a disinfectant in this way—every time a cleaner moves through an area.

Prevention, planning, preparedness and public announcements are among the ways that airports can address outbreaks before, during and after they occur. “Doing these things is not just good business, it can be life saving,” says Pesik.

“We can use that information to quickly gauge what parts of the world are at risk for having a significant impact from a specific disease,” says Khan. “While you can’t prevent everything, in many cases, using a tool like Bio.Diaspora, you can prevent or mitigate the impact of an infectious disease event happening in another part of the world.”

[Bob]

Mers spreading in Iran

ref: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...ills-saudi-man

No signs of burning out.

The progress of the virus, how it appears to NOT BE THERE at first, then something happens and it becomes activated and virulant (able to spread).

"Iran's health ministry has reported the country's fourth Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, in a 44-year-old male healthcare worker, and Saudi Arabia has had another death from the disease, according to official reports today.

"The Iranian is a resident of Kerman province in the southeastern part of the country, according to a statement today from the World Health Organization (WHO). So far all four of Iran's lab-confirmed MERS-CoV cases are from Kerman. The three earlier cases were linked.

"So far it's not clear if the latest case in Iran is part of the earlier cluster. The WHO said the man came down with mild symptoms on Jun 6 and was admitted to a hospital on Jun 17 after his condition worsened. His samples were initially negative for the virus, but specimens collected 2 days later were positive. He is hospitalized in stable condition."

"The man didn't have contact with a lab-confirmed MERS case-patient, but did have close contact on May 26 at the hospital where he worked with a patient who had a severe acute respiratory infection. That patient had traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah in early May and was hospitalized on May 17 with a severe respiratory infection.

"The WHO said that specimens of the close contact were negative for influenza and MERS-CoV. He was transferred to an intensive care unit on May 26 and was intubated. He died 4 days later. Provincial health officials are investigating the illnesses and following the man's close contacts, who include healthcare workers and family members.

"Earlier cases reported in Iran involved two sisters, ages 52 and 50, who got sick in the middle of May and a 35-year-old female nursing assistant who became ill after having contact with the one of the sisters".


Exposures a mystery in recent Saudi cases

The WHO also filled in more details about three of four cases reported by Saudi Arabia on Jun 25 and Jun 27.

"All the patients are men.

"None had contact with other confirmed MERS patients or animals, and none had consumed camel products, sought recent healthcare, or performed Umrah in the 14 days before getting sick.

"Two are in stable condition, while one is listed in critical condition and is on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). "

I find the above extremely concerning.. I find it amazing that someone has finally recognized how besides ventilation, and kidney dialysis, that they figured external blood oxygenation is needed ! Thank God they are waking up how to treat this.

The worry that some type of "sprayed vector", or insect vector may have spread the virus shows something is happening. Something or someone is spreading this virus possibly as a bio-weapons test in another phase..

[Bob]

Airborne MERS nCoV observation reported.

Researchers have been perplexed all along with this virus, how it came from Jordan (the patient zero strain) then moved to Saudi Arabia and then started to spread all over the world..

At the time, the earlier strains were not thought to be airborne (although I noticed the strain that I came back with from Abu Dhabi, UAE had an airborne quality, possibly from being adhered to dust from the desert).

ref: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/...amel_Barn.html

Genetic fragments of the deadly MERS virus were detected in the air of a barn where an infected Camel was kept, a new study says.

The findings show the need for further studies to determine if Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) can be transmitted through the air, the researchers said.

Researchers collected air samples over three consecutive days from a camel barn owned by a 43-year-old male MERS patient who lived south of the town of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The man later died. One of the camels in the barn was later confirmed to have the MERS nCov Virus.

This finding is highly significant.

The air samples contained genetic fragments of MERS that were identical to those detected in the infected camel and its owner, according to the study in the July 22 issue of the journal mBio.

Esam Azhar is the lead researcher and contributed to the report published in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Azhar is also the head of the Special Infectious Agents Unit at King Fahd Medical Research Center and associate professor of medical virology at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.

The world still awaits the Hajj coming up in the next couple months (see earlier posts in this thread) to see if MERS will be spreading through the pilgrims and then eventually to the rest of the world. This latest piece of information about the "airborne infective quality" of this current strain of the MERS nCov virus warrants concern and further study.

[Bob]

HAJJ - OCTOBER 2014 and the MERS_nCOV concern has a new complication, Ebola-Zaire..

(Source)

I know this virus personally, how it spreads, how it makes one's life miserable for up to a year after the infection. The infection/virus like HIV that keeps on giving.. (sigh)..

"While millions from war-ravaged Iraq, Syria, Ebola-hit Nigeria and dozens of other nations will converge this year in Saudi Arabia for the world’s largest Muslim gathering, the annual Hajj, the fear of spread and transmission of deadly viruses like Ebola and MERS is creeping rapidly.

"Starting early October, nearly two million followers will congregate in the holy city of Mecca to follow the 1,400-year-old tradition of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed. ‘This is like a beautiful dream. I will never forget these moments,’ Iraqi pilgrim Kazim Ibrahim, 69, said after reaching Saudi. While Ibrahim and other pilgrims are united by a common religious bond, this year’s hajj comes with Muslim nations drawn together by widespread revulsion toward the Islamic State group jihadists.

"Religious purpose aside, Saudi Arabia and four other Arab states have joined Washington in launching air strikes in Syria against the militants, who have declared a ‘caliphate’ straddling Iraq and Syria and committed brutal atrocities. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has branded IS ‘evil’ and said the jihadists have distorted the image of Islam and Muslims. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s holiest sites, where it is waging a different kind of battle to protect pilgrims from two deadly viruses, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV).

"The deadliest Ebola epidemic so far has infected more than 6,200 people in West Africa and killed nearly half of them, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Although Nigeria is declared free of Ebola, people travelling for West Africa would have to be screened to prevent any possibility of spread of Ebola. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the country hardest hit by MERS, which last weekend claimed the life of a 27-year-old Saudi man in Taif, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Mecca. This brought to 317 the number of MERS deaths in Saudi Arabia since it first appeared in September 2012."

What has been noted is this virus ALSO has been under-reported as the same with Ebola, for whatever reasons.. Potentially if one follows the under-reporting with Ebola, then the MERS_nCOV infection rate, death rate is 2.5 times greater than the 'official" statistics cited.

HAJJ is happening, and many people are about to converge in close quarters in one place and then travel back to their respective countries..

This is something to watch.. with MERS and Ebola now two important threats..

Neither have a vaccination possible at this time..

The HAJJ attendance does require certain immunizations, (proof of such) before one is able to enter.. but they have no way of properly screening for MERS and Ebola..

[Bob]

And Hajj Starts - 2 million people enter Saudi Arabia for the Pilgrimage

(Source)

Upon arrival to the kingdom, pilgrims were asked to fill out “medical screening cards with data” and asked about their travels in the past 21 days, Mansour said.

The kingdom has not discovered a single case of Ebola so far and is taking all measures to ensure the safety and health of the pilgrims, said Manal Mansour, the head of Saudi Health Ministry’s department for prevention of infectious diseases.

Earlier this year, Saudi authorities banned people from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea — the countries hardest hit in the Ebola epidemic — from getting visas as a precaution against the virus. The decision has affected a total of 7,400 pilgrims from the three countries.

[Bob]

Traveling back from Saudi Arabia a person presents Mers_nCov in Austria

(Source)

The Saudi Arabian woman who was found to have MERS-CoV during a visit to Austria was sick before she arrived in the country, and two of her close contacts are being tested for the virus as a result of respiratory symptoms, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

In addition, late yesterday the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new case involving a 65-year-old man and the death of a 43-year-old whose case was announced earlier.

In-flight symptoms
The MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case reported in Austria earlier this week is that country's first. The WHO said the patient is a 29-year-old woman who flew to Vienna on Sep 22. She came from Affif (also spelled Afif), a town about halfway between Mecca and Riyadh, and flew from Riyadh to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Vienna.

She says she had NO CONTACT with Camels, or camel products, no persons with obvious sickness, in short no known possibility as to HOW she could have come in contact with the virus was found.

This is perplexing officials.

MERS is highly infectious able to be conveyed through a cough or sneeze, or spread by other aerosol means.

TWO of the woman's contacts have been hospitalized.

There was a new infection reported officially in Saudi Arabia, who has been cited as under-reporting or not reporting the information to international health authorities (resulting in some of the Saudi health officials being fired from their bureaucratic positions..)

[Bob]

13 Oct - Qatar says Mers_nCov person shows up from Saudi Arabia.

A 71-year-old man, according to a report in "The Peninsula" (local Qatar news), saying in a report, has tested positive for MERS_nCov - this brings the total number of MERS cases in Qatar to 10.

Seven Qataris and three expatriates have been infected until now. Of them three Qataris and two expatriates died.

MERS_nCov was dormant since last November in Qatar.

This gentleman had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia when he fell ill and had to be hospitalized.

He was airlifted to Qatar for treatment and remains hospitalized.

Confirmation of MERS was made by the national reference laboratory in Doha.

In addition, officially reporting, Saudi Arabia has announced 3 additional MERS cases in recent days bringing the total cases to 762, including 324 fatalities.

(Source)

(my tracking of the original source of the Mers_nCov infection that I caught and came back with (couple years ago) from UAE, was originated in QATAR.. The person who I came in contact with in UAE, had recently been to Qatar, and had been complaining of a nasty cold, saying it was the "worse" that they ever had.. Didn't seem like he was presenting that badly, so simple appearances are deceiving.. but he sneezed in the room - as he was actively presenting, well within the incubation period, that apparently was enough for it to be transferred to me and everyone else in the room. I did not have any contacts with Camels or camel products, and nor did this person.. HOW then was this transfer made to the first person? I know all it took was a sneeze in the room.)

[Bob]

MERS is back

(Source)

China Confirms First Case of MERS
China said on Friday a 44-year-old Korean man had tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), China's first confirmed case, but that it had not found any symptoms in 38 people who had been in close contact with him.

Health authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong said it was likely the disease would spread as the patient had taken a bus, crossed a busy border checkpoint from Hong Kong and stayed in a hotel before being taken to hospital.

"As we have said before, the possibility of MERS transferring into Guangdong is very high," He Jianfeng, director for the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control, told reporters.

"In theory, it's possible to have a second case,"

First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no cure or vaccine.

"The virus appears to be circulating widely throughout the Arabian Peninsula," the World Health Organization (WHO) said on its website. "All recent cases that have been reported outside the Middle East first developed infection in the Middle East."

WHO said on Friday 10 people in Korea were confirmed as having MERS, but there had been no sustained human-to-human spread. The UN agency said that it was not recommending screening of passengers or that travel or trade restrictions be imposed on South Korea due to the outbreak.

"The virus is not behaving differently. It is direct transmission and not sustained human-to-human-transmission. They are all related to the same case who came traveling from the Middle East," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a briefing in Geneva.

The patient, in isolation in hospital in the southern Chinese city of Huizhou, had a fever and a chest examination showed possible pneumonia, China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said.