Emirati man diagnosed with MERS & CDC issues MERS preparedness checklists.

Emirati man diagnosed with MERS and CDC issues MERS preparedness checklists.(Croft).

Thanks to Helen Branswell for tweeting the link to this July 12 GulfNews.com report: Emirati man diagnosed with Sars-like virus .

An 82-year-old UAE national has been diagnosed with novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in one of the hospitals in Abu Dhabi. The patient is male with multiple myeloma and is currently admitted in the ICU. 

The Health Authority in Abu Dhabi (HAAD) has confirmed that it is coordinating with the Ministry of Health and other authorities in the country and has taken the necessary measures as per the international standards and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The Ministry of Health stated that the WHO first issued an international alert in September 2012. Up to date the WHO confirmed a total of 80 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV worldwide. This case represents the first diagnosed case of the disease within UAE. 

MOH added that WHO confirmed that the virus is not a concern for public health at the moment, and that the current situation does not require a travel ban to any country in the world, nor screenings at different ports, nor any restrictions on trade.

In her tweet, Branswell says: "Not sure MOH is interpreting @WHO  correctly."

Thanks to Dr. Vincent Racaniello for tweeting the link to this CDC item: MERS-Preparedness. Click through to see the checklists and use the links. Excerpt:

CDC has compiled various tools that can be adapted for MERS-CoV. They were initially developed to assist public health, healthcare, and emergency management in preparing for and reducing surge on the healthcare system due to influenza pandemic and SARS.