DUBAI // More than five months have passed since the last Mers coronavirus case was confirmed in the UAE.
The absence of any sign of the deadly disease across the Emirates has been welcomed by an international infections expert who credited the aggressive action of UAE health authorities in helping to quell the outbreak.
“The fact that there have been no new confirmed cases in the UAE for five months is very good news indeed,” said Dr Salwan Ibrahim, the Middle East medical director for International SOS, a company of experts specialising in global health issues.
The last known cases of Mers in the UAE were reported to the World Health Organisation on July 14.
Dr Ibrahim said that proper health awareness and the education of residents and travellers had helped to increase knowledge about the illness and possible modes of its transmission.
“Health authorities in the UAE have implemented extensive health-promotion campaigns in the media and have strengthened infection-control procedures in healthcare facilities to aid in the management of suspected or confirmed cases,” he said.
“Collectively, this has helped in controlling the previous outbreak and has led to the disappearance of the incidence of newly found cases.”
The Dubai-based professional said eradicating any new cases of infection had been a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors.
Through the guidance and recommendation of the local health authorities in the UAE, and with the support of international health organisations, medical facilities in the country had adopted thorough infection control and disease-management procedures that had helped in managing the situation.
“The development and implementation of these guidelines and response plans has helped to bridge efforts in the healthcare sector,” he said.
“Furthermore, a number of medical conferences and workshops have been held to share knowledge and training between healthcare providers in the UAE.”
Dr Ibrahim said the subsidance of the outbreak reflected a global pattern. However, he warned that residents and travellers to the region needed to remain vigilant and follow health recommendations for infection prevention.
This was especially important as the usual flu season in the region was approaching and this could result in a sudden reappearance and rise in Mers cases.
At the outbreak’s height, several clusters of the virus occurred in the UAE in Abu Dhabi hospitals, while in Saudi Arabia the country’s health service was criticised for its hygiene measures and poor practice in infection prevention.
To date, 941 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers have officially been reported worldwide to the WHO, resulting in at least 347 deaths.
The three most recent cases were reported by the WHO on December 26, including one death in Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the Mers infections have been found.
Dr Ibrahim stressed that proper education and health promotion across the community played an important role in raising the capability to control and ultimately stop the spread of contagious illnesses such as Mers CoV.
“The development and implementation of infection-control procedures and response plans is key to control the outbreak and subsequently eliminate the spread of infection.”
jbell@thenational.ae
