New Corona Virus Case in Qatar

The Peninsula

A 25-year old expatriate has tested positive for MERS-CoV — Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus — in the second confirmed case of the virus this year.  The patient has fever, cough, cold and body pain for few days and was initially treated at a primary healthcare centre and later transferred to the Hamad General Hospital, the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) said. After laboratory tests at the Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) laboratories and medical assessment section, the case was diagnosed and confirmed with MERS- COV infection.

Since the outbreak of the disease in 2012, Qatar has recorded 20 confirmed cases of MERS and seven of the victims were reported dead.

“Despite his stable condition, the patient was admitted to hospital, to comply with the national infection prevention and control protocol for confirmed and suspected MERS-CoV cases to ensure that the patient receives appropriate medical attention,” the Ministry of Public Health said in a statement yesterday.

The emergency response team at the Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Public Health responded as soon it was alerted about the case.

It conducted elaborate tests to know the source of the illness.

Necessary tests have been conducted on all those who came into contact with the patient, who have been kept under observation for two weeks, said the ministry.

However, the patient didn’t have contacts with anyone infected with MERS virus nor travelled out of the country recently.

Meanwhile, the 62 year old patient who was tested positive for MERS-CoV last month has recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

The Ministry of Public Health has set up hotlines 66740948 and 66740951 for health protection and communicable disease control. It is accessible 24/7 to respond to any notification or queries related to infectious diseases.

(Source: ThePeninsulaQatar.com)