WHO is Notified of Two Cases of MERS-CoV in Oman

Between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Oman notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of two additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including one death.

Details of the cases are as follows:

1. A 32-year-old male from Dakhelyia Region developed symptoms on Dec. 27 and was admitted to a hospital on Jan. 5. The patient had comorbidities. He owned a farm and had frequent contact with camels, goats and sheep. The patient had no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. He was admitted to ICU but died on Jan. 7.

2. A 31-year-old female from Dakhelyia Region developed symptoms on Jan. 8 and was admitted to a hospital on Jan. 9. The patient has no comorbidities. She is a household contact of the MERS-CoV case reported above. The household owns camels but she had no direct contact with them. The patient is in stable condition and remains in isolation.

Contact tracing of household contacts and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.

Globally, WHO has been notified of 950 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 350 related deaths.

Source: WHO