UAE Health Authorities Confirm First Case of MERS Virus Infection in the Country

An 82-year-old man became the first person in the United Arab Emirates to be diagnosed with MERS coronavirus infection, health authorities in the country revealed.

The Emirati citizen who contracted the SARS-like virus suffers from cancer and is being treated in hospital in the capital, Abu Dhabi health authority said in a statement carried by WAM state news agency late Thursday.

MERS Virus can be Easily Transmitted in Hospital Settings
The coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome poses a serious risk to hospitals as it can be easily transmitted in healthcare settings.

The authority said that this was the first case to be diagnosed in the United Arab Emirates.

In May, France said a 65-year-old man was in hospital after being diagnosed with the coronavirus after a holiday in Dubai. But the UAE health ministry said at the time no cases of the virus had been recorded in the country.

Experts are struggling to understand MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has mostly affected neighbouring Saudi Arabia where 65 cases have been detected, including 38 fatalities.

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The World Health Organisation announced last week that it had convened emergency talks on the MERS virus.

Concerns have been expressed about the potential impact of October's hajj pilgrimage, when millions of Muslims from around the globe head to and from Saudi Arabia.

MERS Virus Death Toll Hits 33
SARS-like virus MERS has raised the global death toll to 33, the WHO claims

The WHO has not recommended any MERS-related travel restrictions, but says countries should monitor unusual respiratory infection patterns.

The first recorded MERS death was in June last year in Saudi Arabia.

New Suspected Cases of SARS-like MERS Virus in France
French medical authorities reported two new suspected cases of infection with the SARS-like virus MERS which has killed more than 30 people globally, mostly in Saudi Arabia.

Like SARS, MERS appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering from fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. But it differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.

Source-AFP