Govt to Talk with Camel Owners on MERS Measures
JEDDAH: Officials from the agriculture and health ministries are set to hold a crucial meeting later this month on how to convince skeptical camel owners that the animals are the cause of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infections and deaths.
This comes in the wake of the government drafting 10 recommendations on how to protect the community from the virus, including removing the animals from cities and introducing routine examinations of owners and camels.
It is expected that the meeting will be held within next two weeks. Preparations have already begun according to the guidelines laid down by Prince Bandar bin Saud, chairman of the Saudi Wildlife Authority.
An official from the Ministry of Health said the plan is to work with Agriculture Ministry staff to find a solution that would protect people and animals. The two ministries initially had differences over the link between MERS and camels, but this has been resolved with the emergence of scientific evidence.
However, now the ministries have to work together to convince camel owners of the link, which has already been determined in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and some African countries.
An official said some camel owners are opposed to any regulations because they feel that owning camels is part of their heritage, even though it has been proven that the animals originated in North America several million years ago.