Three New Cases of MERS-CoV in Abu Dhabi are Reported

On May 21, 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported three additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

A 71-year-old male in Abu Dhabi was admitted to a hospital on Feb. 11, 2014 and is known to have several comorbidities. On May 4 he developed fever and on May 7 tested positive for MERS-CoV by PCR. Currently, he is in a stable condition. He had contact with a previously confirmed case in the hospital: a healthcare worker (a 39-year-old female) reported to WHO on May 11. He has no history of contact with animals and no history of consumption of raw camel products.

A 26-year-old male in Abu Dhabi was detected through general screening at his workplace on May 7 without any history of contact to a laboratory confirmed MERS-CoV case. He tested positive for MERS-CoV by PCR on May 8. While asymptomatic at the time of screening, the investigation revealed that he had mild cough on May 1. He has no comorbidities and no travel history. He had contact with animals (cows and sheep but not camels), but has no history of consumption of raw camel products. He was admitted to hospital for isolation on May 8 and discharged on May 14.

A 36-year-old male from Abu Dhabi developed symptoms, including fever and mild breathing difficulty, on May 2 and was seen in an outpatient service on May 4. His condition deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital on 7 May with high grade fever and developed breathing difficulty. On May 9 he tested positive for MERS-CoV by PCR. He recovered and was discharged on May 12. He is known to have comorbidities, but reported no contact with a laboratory confirmed MERS-CoV case and has no travel history. He also has no contact with animals and no history of consumption of raw camel products.

Globally, 635 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV have officially been reported to WHO, including 193 deaths. This global total includes all of the cases reported in this update, plus 17 laboratory confirmed cases officially reported to WHO by Saudi Arabia between May 16 through 18. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working closely with Saudi Arabia for additional information on these cases and will provide further updates as soon as possible.

Source: WHO