There is a growing concern about the spread of one of the most lethal diseases worldwide, specifically in the Middle East, following a recent case involving a man in his late twenties from Abu Dhabi.
The 28-year-old man had a near-death experience in a hospital after contracting MERS, a virus that is 16 times deadlier than its relative, COVID-19.
To stop the spread of the disease among people, UAE officials, from both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, are urgently trying to control the virus.
MERS, which stands for Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, is feared because it is believed to kill about one in every three people it infects with a fatality rate of 35 percent.
Normally, MERS is spread through contact with camels. However, in this unusual case, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the infected man had no interaction with camels, goats, or sheep – all known carriers of the virus.
According to a report issued by WHO, the UAE informed the United Nations agency about the case on 10 July.
The details of how the man got the virus are still uncertain. Despite having no known health conditions, the man got sick, and authorities had to check up on over 100 people he had contact with.
After two weeks of monitoring, none of these contacts tested positive for the virus. Investigations into how the man contracted MERS are still underway.
The WHO, however, issued a warning that additional cases of MERS could be on the horizon. The organization is still closely watching the situation and has asked its member states to scrutinize any unusual patterns.
In the UN agency’s report, it has also been confirmed that the patient was admitted to the hospital on 9 June. A throat and nose swab test was conducted on 21 June, and the results came back positive for MERS two days later.
Often referred to as camel flu, MERS usually starts with symptoms similar to a common cold. However, it can quickly escalate to pneumonia and kidney failure, both of which can be fatal.
MERS comes from the same viral family as the one responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. It is transmitted by touching infected camels or people. However, the exact ways this virus spreads are not fully understood by virus experts.
