MERS coronavirus makes first appearance in Asia

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   MERS coronavirus makes first appearance in Asia: Malaysia, Philippines report MERS-CoV cases

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been confirmed for the first time in Asia as the Malaysian Ministry of Health reports a confirmed death in a man from Batu Pahat, Johor.

According to a Malaysia Ministry of Health press release today (computer translated), “the investigation found he had returned to Malaysia from performing umrah and arrival on 29 March 2014. On 8-9 April 2014, he experiences symptoms fever, cough and difficulty breathing. On 10 April 2014, he was admitted to Sultanah Nora Ismail (HSNI), for the inspection and further treatment. Circumstances he became increasingly ill and confirmed died the world on 13 April 2014, at 9: 57 am. As a result the investigation found the cause of death is Severe Pneumonia Secondary to MERS-CoV.”

The investigation is ongoing. Health officials are requesting people traveling on Turkish Airlines (TK93 and TK60) for travel from Jeddah-Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur on 29 March 2014 are kindly requested to contact the following numbers for assist the Ministry of Health surveillance.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippines Department of Health is reporting that an overseas worker, a nurse and his family have been quarantined upon arrival in Manila, making him the first confirmed case in the Philippines. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page.

Philippines Health Secretary, Enrique Ona issued the following statement about one hour ago, which is posted on the DOH Facebook page:

An OFW who had contact with the OFW who died of MERS-CoV in United Arab Emirates arrived in the country yesterday. He tested positive on the nose swab examination in UAE but completely no symptoms. The Embassy of the Philippines in UAE informed DOH and DFA immediately of the results. Upon arrival in the airport, DOH and Bureau of Quarantine put him in isolation with his family and everyone who has had contact with him within the past 24 hours. We also re-tested him and the result will come out in Friday. We are also performing an intensive contact tracing and public information. Our 2 specialists to UAE are set to leave anytime soon. Sec Ona.

http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/mers-coronavirus-makes-first-appearance-in-asia-malaysia-philippines-report-mers-cov-cases-43672/

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arirish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215	Post Options Post Reply Quote arirish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: MERS coronavirus makes first appearance in Asia Posted: April 16 2014 at 6:30am
	MERS coronavirus makes first appearance in Asia: Malaysia, Philippines report MERS-CoV cases The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been confirmed for the first time in Asia as the Malaysian Ministry of Health reports a confirmed death in a man from Batu Pahat, Johor. According to a Malaysia Ministry of Health press release today (computer translated), “the investigation found he had returned to Malaysia from performing umrah and arrival on 29 March 2014. On 8-9 April 2014, he experiences symptoms fever, cough and difficulty breathing. On 10 April 2014, he was admitted to Sultanah Nora Ismail (HSNI), for the inspection and further treatment. Circumstances he became increasingly ill and confirmed died the world on 13 April 2014, at 9: 57 am. As a result the investigation found the cause of death is Severe Pneumonia Secondary to MERS-CoV.” The investigation is ongoing. Health officials are requesting people traveling on Turkish Airlines (TK93 and TK60) for travel from Jeddah-Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur on 29 March 2014 are kindly requested to contact the following numbers for assist the Ministry of Health surveillance. Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippines Department of Health is reporting that an overseas worker, a nurse and his family have been quarantined upon arrival in Manila, making him the first confirmed case in the Philippines. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page. Philippines Health Secretary, Enrique Ona issued the following statement about one hour ago, which is posted on the DOH Facebook page: An OFW who had contact with the OFW who died of MERS-CoV in United Arab Emirates arrived in the country yesterday. He tested positive on the nose swab examination in UAE but completely no symptoms. The Embassy of the Philippines in UAE informed DOH and DFA immediately of the results. Upon arrival in the airport, DOH and Bureau of Quarantine put him in isolation with his family and everyone who has had contact with him within the past 24 hours. We also re-tested him and the result will come out in Friday. We are also performing an intensive contact tracing and public information. Our 2 specialists to UAE are set to leave anytime soon. Sec Ona. http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/mers-coronavirus-makes-first-appearance-in-asia-malaysia-philippines-report-mers-cov-cases-43672/
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EdwinSm, Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Joined: April 03 2013 Status: Offline Points: 24065	Post Options Post Reply Quote EdwinSm, Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 16 2014 at 10:24pm
	These were imported cases (like the first cases in England). It would be of much greater concern if MERS past on to others in the hospitals/planes. Neither Malaysia nor the Philippines have many camels (!) so that would not be a area where the virus could hid. MERS did not spread during the Hajj last year, so are these cases just isolated ones, or is MERS changing so it is better at spreading?

Suzi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: September 02 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2769	Post Options Post Reply Quote Suzi Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 18 2014 at 6:22pm
	http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/04/saudis-report-12-more-mers-cases-greece-has-its-first Mers may be getting out of control.

cobber Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote cobber Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 18 2014 at 11:23pm
	MERS is not out of control yet. When we see clustering in remote locations then we need to worry. At the moment its associated with a camel host and has a very low reproduction value.

arirish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215	Post Options Post Reply Quote arirish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 19 2014 at 10:00am
	Without sequences from recent cases we don't know what is going on! Is this just poor infection control in these hospitals or has it mutated? We'll just have to wait and see!
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Suzi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: September 02 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2769	Post Options Post Reply Quote Suzi Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 19 2014 at 7:05pm
	The medical people seem to get it from patients easy enough.

CRS, DrPH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Expert Level Adviser Joined: January 20 2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 26660	Post Options Post Reply Quote CRS, DrPH Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 19 2014 at 9:51pm
	I'm just waiting for a MERS "super-spreader" patient to emerge! http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/4/04-0639_article.htm To the Editor: The primary mode of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) appears to be through exposure to respiratory droplets and direct contact with patients and their contaminated environment. However, in summarizing their experiences during the SARS outbreaks in Toronto and Taiwan, McDonald et al. (1) note that certain persons were very efficient at transmitting SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and that in certain settings these so-called “superspreaders” played a crucial role in the epidemic. Airborne transmission by aerosols may have occurred in many of these cases. The same observation has been made by others (2–4), but the causes of these superspreading events and the reasons for the variable communicability of SARS-CoV are still unclear. Possible explanations include specific host characteristics (e.g., altered immune status, underlying diseases), higher level of virus shedding, or environmental factors (1–3).
	CRS, DrPH