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A matter of time before Mers hits Singapore
MOH points out risks associated with being an air travel hub, but says hospitals are vigilant and prepared
PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 2014 6:54 AM
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The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus is seen in an undated transmission electron micrograph from the
National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). -- FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
BY LINETTE LAI
It could simply be a matter of time before Singapore gets its first case of Mers.
"Being an air travel hub, there is always the risk that eventually we will also report a case,"
said Dr Jeffery Cutter, director of the Health Ministry's communicable diseases division.
Already 18 countries have registered at least one patient with the Middle East respiratory
syndrome (Mers), although the Middle East remains the worst affected.
From today, air travellers arriving from hot spots Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,
as well as other Mers-affected countries from the Gulf region will have their temperature
screened.
But even if a case of Mers is detected in Singapore, the likelihood of a community outbreak is
low, said Dr Cutter.
This is because sustained transmission of the disease - when a person passes the virus to those
beyond his immediate circle - has not been observed.
Instead the spread of Mers overseas has been concentrated in hospitals, unlike the severe
acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak here in 2003, which spread mainly in the
community.
That is why local hospitals have been urged to "stay vigilant". They have already put in place
plans to deal with patients suspected of carrying the virus.
At Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and the Singapore General Hospital, for instance, all
emergency department patients will be screened and put in isolation rooms if they are
suspected to have the virus.
TTSH is one of the first places air travellers will be transferred to if they are suspected to
have Mers. It also has plans to increase facilities for screening and admission "if and when
the number of suspected patients increases", said a hospital spokesman.
In the event of a confirmed Mers case here, contact tracing will be carried out by the Ministry
of Health (MOH). Those identified will be quarantined for 14 days, which is how long the
virus takes to incubate.
While younger people were more susceptible to the Sars virus, Mers seems to target older
people with chronic diseases. However, experts say too little is known about the disease to
come to firm conclusions.
"It's not that there's not enough work being done, but it takes time for all this to be fully
understood," infectious disease expert Ng Oon Tek of TTSH said.
Laboratories in Singapore are able to effectively test for the disease. This means confirmed
cases can be detected quickly.
"When Sars emerged in 2003, we knew a lot less about the virus initially," said Associate
Professor Benjamin Ong, director of medical services at MOH. At the time, he recalled,
suspected cases were identified based on symptoms such as fever.
"But because fever is relatively non-specific, it also meant that we ended up with a lot of
noise that we had to screen through."
Whether precautionary measures are stepped up will depend on the Mers situation abroad,
Prof Ong added.
"The more we know, the more we will be able to calibrate our responses," he said. "Stepping
up does involve a fair bit of resources and a little bit of inconvenience for people... so we
have to make the decision carefully."
[email protected]
- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/health/story/matter-time-mers-hits-singapore20140518#sthash.vJEvW1We.dpuf
3 more deaths from Mers in Saudi Arabia, toll rises to 163
PUBLISHED ON MAY 17, 2014 4:12 PM
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The Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) coronavirus is seen in an undated transmission electron micrograph from the
National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Health authorities in Saudi Arabia have reported three more
fatalities from the Mers respiratory virus, taking the death toll in the world's worst-hit country to 163. -- FILE PHOTO:
REUTERS
RIYADH (AFP) - Health authorities in Saudi Arabia have reported three more fatalities from
the Mers respiratory virus, taking the death toll in the world's worst-hit country to 163.
The health ministry website also revealed on Saturday that 520 cases have been recorded in
the country since Middle East Respiratory Syndrome first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
It said three women died on Friday, including one in Riyadh, 48, and a 67-year-old in the
western city of Taif. A third woman died in Jeddah, the port city where a spate of cases
among staff at King Fahd Hospital last month sparked public panic and the dismissal of its
director and the health minister.
Other nations including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates
and the United States have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to the desert
kingdom.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation said its emergency committee, which
includes global medical and policy experts, had flagged mounting concerns about the
potentially fatal virus.
The WHO called on countries to improve infection prevention and control, collect more data
on Mers and to be vigilant in preventing it from spreading to vulnerable countries, notably in
Africa.
But it has so far stopped short of declaring an international health emergency, which would
have far-reaching implications such as travel and trade restrictions on affected countries.
A WHO team carried out a five-day inspection visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month and
pinpointed breaches in its recommended infection prevention measures as being partly
responsible for the spike in hospital infections.
Mers is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the Sars virus that appeared in
Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.
Like Sars, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing
difficulties and a high body temperature. But Mers differs in that it also causes rapid kidney
failure.
- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/middle-east/story/3-more-deaths-mers-saudi-arabia-tollrises-163-20140517#sthash.ykO9QomZ.dpuf
US reports third case of Mers virus in Illinois man
PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 2014 5:59 AM
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Shay Wilinski works in the Microbiology Lab at Community Hospital, where a patient with the first confirmed U.S. case of
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is in isolation, in Munster, Indiana, May 5, 2014. -- FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AFP) - An Illinois man has contracted the Mers respiratory virus after
coming into contact with the first case of the mysterious Middle East pathogen in the United
States, become the third infected person.
It was during an ongoing investigation on the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus in the United States that officials identified the new case, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said on Saturday.
“CDC officials explained that these laboratory test results are preliminary and suggest that
the Illinois resident probably got the virus from the Indiana patient and the person’s body
developed antibodies to fight the virus,” the agency said in a statement.
It said the Illinois resident, who has not recently travelled outside the United States, met
twice with the Indiana patient before he was identified as the first known case of Mers in the
United States.
As part of the investigation, health officials have tested people who came into contact with
the Indiana resident.
The identities of the Mers patients have not been released.
The Illinois resident was first tested for Mers on May 5, and those test results were negative.
But a blood sample tested positive on Friday, showing he has antibodies to Mers.
“This latest development does not change CDC’s current recommendations to prevent the
spread of Mers-CoV,” said David Swerdlow, who is leading the agency’s Mers response.
“It’s possible that as the investigation continues, others may also test positive for Mers-CoV
infection but not get sick.” The United States has previously announced two confirmed cases
of Mers, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which originated in Saudi Arabia and has
since spread to more than a dozen countries.
The first patient, who fell ill in April, has been discharged from a hospital in Indiana.
Symptoms of Mers can include fever, chills, cough and in serious cases, kidney failure.
Health authorities say it is transmissible mainly through close person-to-person contact and in
health care settings.
Meanwhile, health authorities in Saudi Arabia reported three more fatalities from the Mers
respiratory virus, taking the death toll in the world’s worst-hit country to 163.
The health ministry website also revealed that 520 cases have been recorded in the country
since Mers first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United States
have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to the desert kingdom.
Mers is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the Sars virus that appeared in
Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.
Like Sars, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing
difficulties and a temperature. But Mers differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.
- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/americas/story/us-reports-third-case-mers-virus-illinoisman-20140518#sthash.U8Vqybes.dpuf