The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday night confirmed a case of the potentially fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Abu Dhabi. According to the UN body, a 28-year-old man tested positive for the virus after he was admitted to a hospital last month in Al Ain city.
The health officials have checked 108 people with whom the man was in contact with but no secondary infections had turned up so far, reported news agency Reuters citing WHO.
The current condition of the infected man is still awaited.
Meanwhile, there were also no signs that the man had come into contact with dromedary camels – which spread the disease.
What is MERS-CoV?
- The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
- Since its detection, 27 countries reported MERS cases, including Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.
- According to the WHO, a total of 2,605 cases of the virus have been reported so far, with 936 associated deaths.
- MERS is a zootonic virus that can transmit between animals and people. According to WHO information, people in Saudi Arabia mostly got infected through unprotected contact with infected dromedary camels.
- The symptoms of the virus include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, and in some cases can lead to pneumonia.
