DOHA: A 29-year old expatriate working in a camel farm in Qatar has tested positive for MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) said yesterday.
This is the third confirmed MERS case reported this year, taking the total infections in the country to 14.
The last case was reported in March, in which a 69-year-old Qatari was infected.
An SCH statement said the patient reported at a primary healthcare centre on May 19 with symptoms of fever and cough for five days. He tested positive for MERS CoV virus the following day and transferred to hospital under infection prevention and control measures.
He has no other chronic diseases (co-morbidities) nor did he travel out of the country during the incubation period (the time between exposure to the infection and the symptoms first seen), said SCH. He also didn’t interact with any suspected or confirmed MERS cases.
The patient’s condition is stable and is receiving treatment.
A team of experts from Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases Department at SCH and the Animal Health Department is conducting a thorough investigation of other workers and camels at the barn where the expatriate works.
People who came in contact with him have been advised to take preventive measures and report to authorities if they develop any respiratory symptoms, said SCH.
The council has set up a hotline 66740948/66740951 at Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases Department to answer public queries about MERS.
The Peninsula
