DOHA: A three-day regional workshop on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV), opened here yesterday, is discussing the latest research and findings related the disease that so far infected 1,118 people all over the world leading to 448 deaths.
The workshop is organised jointly by Ministry of Environment, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in cooperation with the World Health Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health OIE).
The workshop, held at Doha Marriott Hotel, updates on human infections with Mers-CoV as well as the virus in animals, and overview of FAO activities on Mers-CoV.
One of the sessions of the workshop discusses “One Health” practices in relation to Mers-CoV and the current situation in the region. Another session touches on large-scale sero and virological screening for Mers-CoV in Africa and central Asia in camels.
The workshop will also discuss the virus in the Horn of Africa and current knowledge and perspectives on future activities in the region.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Dr Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of Public Health at SCH, said several aspects make the meeting a unique event. “First, it managed to bring all concerned veterinary, health, and agriculture organisations and renowned professionals together in one place for the first time since the emergence of the novel virus in 2012, allowing for high level of knowledge exchange to advance the collective understanding of the virus and its implied challenges posed on public health.”
“Second, it comes after extensive consultations and meetings at different levels in the context of animal-human interface. Despite each of these meetings managed to cast light on one of the view angles of the killing disease, this meeting recognizes the need to integrate efforts of the involved health and veterinary institutions through presenting the latest research findings on the potential role of animals in the epidemiological cycle of Mers-CoV,” he added.
Highlighting the significance of the meeting, he said the general population of Arab communities across the Arab Peninsula has high expectations of the workshop in order to find the right answers in relation to the mechanism of the virus transmission.
He added that cooperation between SCH and the Ministry of Environment has succeeded in achieving a “recognizable scientific breakthrough with a genuine support from WHO and Erasmus Institute of Public Health in Netherlands.”
Dr (Sheikh) Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural Affairs and Fisheries at the Ministry of Environment, said that combating common diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans is a priority for the Ministry of Environment due to the outbreak of new diseases in the recent years, 70 percent of which are common, which poses a challenge to the world that needs to be addressed.
He said the outbreak of Coronavirus in the recent years and its association with camels had a significant role in uniting efforts between the Ministry of Environment and SCH to develop a joint system of cooperation against the disease and extend the umbrella of cooperation to include other common diseases.
The workshop aims to present the latest research findings on the disease and the current knowledge in affected countries on the potential role of animal species in the epidemiological cycle of MERS. It also analyses the recent developments in diagnostic and surveillance tools to support animal investigations.
The event aims to identify the concrete steps and roadmap for coordinated actions at the sub-regional level with a view to halting the spread of the disease.
Another objective is discussing an agreeing on mechanisms for intra-regional and global cooperation in investigations, research and knowledge sharing and the role of international and regional organisations.
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