Mers virus detected in air samples from Saudi camel barn

[Sally]

With so many visitors to Saudi Aabia for Ramadan, I hope they don't pick up this respiratory illness and then bring it back to their home countries, especially the poor countries which can't handle an epidemic.


Mers virus detected in air samples from Saudi camel barn
New evidence suggests the disease may be transmitted through the air

Reuters Published: 18:36 July 22, 2014

London: Saudi scientists have found gene fragments of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) virus in air from a barn housing an infected camel and say this suggests the disease may be transmitted through the air.

Mers, a serious respiratory illness caused by a virus known as a coronavirus (CoV), has infected at least 850 people since it first emerged two years ago and killed at least 327 of them, according to latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).


The clear message here is that detection of airborne Mers-CoV molecules ... warrants further investigations and measures to prevent possible airborne transmission.”
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Continue reading at:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/mers-virus-detected-in-air-samples-fr

 

[waltky]

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus vaccine being developed...

Army Scientists Begin First MERS Vaccine Clinical Trial
Feb 18, 2016 | WASHINGTON — Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research started vaccinations in the first clinical trial to test the safety and immune response in people of a vaccine candidate to prevent Middle East respiratory syndrome, known as MERS.

A MERS vaccine would be an important medical countermeasure for U.S. troops in the Middle East and wherever the virus might arise, officials said. MERS is a severe respiratory disease similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Both are coronaviruses. MERS was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since infected more than 1,600 people.

This image shows Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus particle envelope proteins immunolabeled with rabbit HCoV-EMC/2012 primary antibody and goat anti-rabbit 10-nanometer gold particles.​

The coronavirus kills about 40 percent of those infected, principal investigator Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad told DoD News in a telephone interview, "so low prevalence doesn't mean low risk." Modjarrad is associate director for the Emerging Infectious Disease Research Program at WRAIR.

MERS Countermeasure

The virus circulates mainly in Saudi Arabia, where most cases have been reported, he said. But the World Health Organization reports that MERS cases infected in the Middle East and exported outside the region have been confirmed in 26 countries, including two in the United States. And last year, South Korea had the largest outbreak outside the Middle East, Modjarrad added.

With about 35,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Middle East countries that make up U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility and more than 27,000 in South Korea, a MERS vaccine would be an important countermeasure for the Defense Department, the infectious disease specialist said. The most common MERS symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. Older people and those with weakened immune systems are at greater risk for severe disease and death. There are no approved MERS vaccines or specific treatments, according to WRAIR.

First Clinical Trial

 

[jon_berzerk]

did you read about that guy in Saudi Aabia

that got busted for his camel piss tea

he didnt get busted for having camel piss in his tea

he got busted for using human piss

--LOL

Saudis shut down camel urine shop: owner was selling his own urine

 

[waltky]

MERS is deadly on the elderly...

MERS virus kills Qatari
10 Mar 2016 - This is the first such case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome reported in Qatar since May 2015 when it claimed the life of a 73-year-old man.

A 66-year-old Qatari man has died after contracting the MERS virus, in the first fatal case in the Gulf state for 10 months, health officials announced Thursday (Mar 10). The public health ministry, quoted by the official Qatar News Agency, said the man "had been suffering from several chronic diseases and died of complications from the disease". This was the first such case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome reported in Qatar since May 2015 when it claimed the life of a 73-year-old man, the ministry added in a statement.

The ministry "continues to monitor acute respiratory diseases and is working in cooperation with all the health institutions in the public and private sectors to monitor any suspected case," it said. The latest victim had been diagnosed with the virus in February. He was hospitalised after returning from a "neighbouring country", according to an official statement last month. MERS is a viral respiratory illness and considered a deadlier but less infectious cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing hundreds.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure. It first appeared five years ago in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which has been the country worst hit by the virus, with 1,286 cases of infection and 551 deaths, according to official figures. Globally, there have been 1,644 confirmed MERS cases and 590 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

MERS virus kills Qatari