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WHO: MERS situation improving
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Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus is still a serious threat to human health, but the recent upsurge in cases has decreased and the situation does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern, according to WHO.
The WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee met for the sixth time Monday by telephone to discuss and evaluate the global threat of MERS and determined that there was still no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the disease. The committee also noted significant improvements in infection and control in countries in the Middle East, particularly those affected by the disease. Health officials said they believe that those efforts have led to the decrease in cases.
“On the basis of those lines of information, the Emergency Committee assessed that the current situation does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda, MD, MPH, said during a teleconference.
Keiji Fukuda
However, the committee indicated areas of concern, specifically the expected increase in travel to Saudi Arabia for umra, Ramadan and the hajj. Additionally, recent MERS outbreaks at health care facilities have underscored the importance of identifying areas where infection prevention and control has failed. According to Fukuda, the upsurge in cases has been primarily attributed to nosocomial transmission of MERS.
It was also noted during the meeting that camels are an important source of exposure to MERS in the community, based on the results of ongoing investigations.
The committee reiterated its previous recommendations to countries to reduce further transmission of MERS, including:
- Strengthen basic infection prevention and control measures and increase education about these measures, particularly among health care workers;
- Complete important investigations that are currently underway, including epidemiologic studies, serologic studies, surveys and animal studies;
- Strengthen capacities in vulnerable countries, especially those in Africa, and improve public health measures in these countries, including surveillance, public awareness and infection prevention and control; and
- Raise awareness of MERS infections, particularly among pilgrims participating in umra or the hajj.
Fukuda said barring any “dramatic changes” in the situation regarding MERS, the Emergency Committee will reconvene in about 3 months.
To date, there have been a total of 701 confirmed cases of MERS worldwide and 249 related deaths.