How come every time a new virus surges in a specific geographical area it reaches the stage of becoming an epidemic before it is stopped? Are these viruses serving the purpose of providing financial support to pharmaceutical companies that end up developing a given vaccine? Or is it the non-adherence of people to precautionary steps to avoid the spread?
Since 2012 and increasing at a faster rate last year, a new illness surfaced in the Middle East area called MERS-CoV. This Middle East Respiratory Syndrome caused by a coronavirus is really something to start counting in the list of illnesses you need to skip. It is true that there is no need to panic; however, there is a big need to acting properly. Big question marks are being raised as there is no available treatment yet for this viral infection took the lives of about half of the infected people. Starting off camels and spreading from human to humans, this illness has clustered mainly in Saudi Arabia and reaching surrounding nations like UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, France, Italy…
Two main clusters exist; one in KSA and the other in UAE. Most infected were males & the majority of deaths occurred in infected individuals who have pre-existing health conditions. In 2 May 2014, this virus traveled to the USA where one case was confirmed. Local authorities did their investigations to prevent any spread within the country.
This illness leads to fever, cough and shortness of breath. It spreads through close contact. Several gaps are still present regarding the transmission route which makes it difficult to control its spread. The CDC, WHO and many international and local organizations have been working collaboratively to develop a set of guidelines: preventive measures.
From another angle, 3 specialized hospitals have been developed in KSA to help infected people by placing them in isolation during their sickness. This will stop the virus spread from patients to healthcare professionals.
How to control the spread of this illness? Well, it is not too complicated.
1- You can start by washing your hands thoroughly with clean water and soap before and after: eating, using the bathroom, sneezing, coughing, shaking hands with people, during a meeting, visiting the supermarket, and going to public places.
2- Keep rubbing your hands for about 20 seconds. If in some cases clean water and soap were not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
3- People of the Middle East area should stop eating any camel product including his meat and milk. They are advised to wash thoroughly their vegetables and fruits at home.
I strongly believe that if workplaces, schools, universities, clinics, hospitals, malls, stores, supermarkets, gyms, hairdressers and restaurants install a sensor-based sanitizer machine; it can help individuals be safer and can enormously pause the spread of this virus when accompanied by proper health education. It is true that raising awareness is of major importance; however, when it is not convenient, it will not be adhered to properly. During this period of massive spread in 2014, it was advisable to wear masks during traveling to and from these affected countries & adopt high hygienic measures. It was as well highly recommended for airports to establish a testing system for this virus at every port of entry to avoid its spread furthermore. It is after all a middle eastern epidemic; let’s restrict its growth. MERS- CoV still exists until now with a total number of about 1600 cases reported. Unfortunately, people became more familiar with it to the point that no precautions are being taken anymore! Below you can find an advisory of the campaign that was launched in 2014 in the heat of the epidemic.
