The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly confirmed a case of “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” or MERS-CoV.
QUICK FACTS:
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Arab Emirates has reported a new case of a Coronavirus variant in the country.
- The patient, a 28-year-old male from AI Ain city, allegedly tested positive for the “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus,” otherwise known as MERS-CoV.
- Since July 2013, the UAE has confirmed a total of 94 MERS-CoV cases, resulting in 12 associated deaths.
- The WHO reports the strain of the virus as being “a zoonotic virus, meaning it is transmitted between animals and people. MERS-CoV has been identified and linked to human infections in dromedary camels in several Member States in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.”
- Typical symptoms for the strain include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
- “Pneumonia is common, but MERS patients may not always develop this condition. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported among MERS patients,” the WHO claims.
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ON MERS-CoV CASE REPORTED IN THE UAE:
“WHO expects that additional cases of MERS infection will be reported from the Middle East and/or other countries where MERS is circulating in dromedaries,” the agency said.
BACKGROUND:
- In January 2023, New York City health officials warned residents that the infectious omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 was potentially more likely to infect people who had already been vaccinated or infected with COVID-19.
- “Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 73% of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in NYC,” the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tweeted at the time. ” XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible form of COVID-19 that we know of to date and may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or already had COVID-19.”
- The department added that getting vaccinated against the Coronavirus, including receiving an updated booster shot, remained the best way to protect against hospitalization and death, including from new variants.
