ISLAMABAD: After the Haj season, chances of spreading of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)increases. Commonly known as ‘Mers’, it is a viral respiratory illness in which a patient develops fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Health expert Dr Javed Akram while talking to Dawn said its (virus) incubation period is just one week.

“The virus travels in the air and enters the body through mouth. It affects the respiratory system to such an extent that the patient has to be put on ventilator,” he said, adding that Mers was a life-threatening disease.

“To stop the virus from entering the country, thermo scanners should be installed at the airports and the infected patient should immediately be shifted to isolation ward,” he said.

The staff taking care of the patient should wear special dress to avoid contracting the virus, he said.

“Pilgrims should wear masks and wash their hands after meeting with people during pilgrimage,” he said, adding even if a returning Haji has common flu, cough or fever he should be tested for the virus.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) organised a workshop aimed at raising awareness of the disease.

Speaking at the workshop, country representative Dr Michel Thieren said the health system in Pakistan had become more resilient which could be gauged from its dealing with the threat of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) last year.

Dr Thieren, while talking about MERS-CoV, said that the virus was new and people did not know about it.

He emphasized that knowing the disease and its virus was important. It is not as contagious as other airborne diseases like measles are. MERS-CoV has been reported from 26 countries so far and all cases showed direct or indirect link with Arabian countries, the WHO country director said.

“Though Pakistan has not reported any case of MERS-CoV so far its (virus) chances of travelling to Pakistan particularly after the Haj season are high,” he said. — A Reporter

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2015

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