Five Cases of MERS-CoV are Reported to WHO
On April 17, 2014, the Ministries of Health of Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported an additional five laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
The following details were provided to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia on April 17, 2014:
A 54-year-old man with underlying health conditions traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with a pilgrimage group of 18 people from March 15 through March 28,2014 and became ill on April 4. He sought treatment in a private clinic in Johor, Malaysia on April 7 and went to a hospital on April 9. The patient died on April 13. The patient visited a camel farm on March 26, during which he consumed camel milk.
This is the first case with MERS-CoV infection in the country. The Ministry of Health reported that so far no human-to-human transmission has been observed amongst close contacts and in healthcare facilities in Malaysia.
The following details were provided to WHO by the Ministry of Health, UAE on April 17, 2014:
A cluster of four healthcare workers were identified through screening of contacts of a previously laboratory-confirmed case from Abu Dhabi who died on April 10, 2014. These include:
A 44-year-old man from Abu Dhabi who was screened on April 13. He had no illness and is reported to have no underlying medical condition.
A 30-year-old man from Abu Dhabi who was screened on April 13. He had no illness and is reported to have no underlying medical condition.
A 34-year-old man from the Philippines who resides in Abu Dhabi. He was screened on April 13 without any illness and is reported not to have any underlying medical condition.
A 28-year-old man from Abu Dhabi who became ill on April 14, 2014. He is reported to have no underlying medical condition.
All of the aforementioned cases are known to have exposure to a previously laboratory-confirmed case. They have no reported history of recent travel and no contact with animals. Three cases are in isolation in a hospital and are in a stable condition. One case returned to his home country although he was advised not to before the laboratory results were received. Screening of other health care contacts and of family members is ongoing.
Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 243 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 93 deaths.
Source: WHO
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