The MERS coronavirus that most likely surfaced in the Middle East in the beginning of 2012 has spread to Western Europe and North Africa where localized clusters of cases are noted. Eighty cases have been confirmed worldwide, with a 50 percent mortality rate.
Scientists scrutinized worldwide airline traffic historic Hajj data to envisage population activities in and out of the Middle East during two mass assemblies to help countries assess their potential for MERS introduction via returning voyagers and pilgrims.
Approximately 1.7 million lakh Indian are estimated to visit this year during Umrah, a pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year but is considered particularly auspicious during the month of Ramadan, and Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage required to all physically and financially able Muslims at least once in their life, which takes place on October 13-18 this year.
International scientists from St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto warned India on Saturday that the new SARS-like virus MERS Coronavirus has emerged in the Middle East and could spread faster and wider during two international mass gatherings because it is one of the highly susceptible countries.
Two cities from India – Mumbai and Kozhikode – were among the 12 cities that received more than 350,000 commercial air travelers between on June to November 2012 from the countries where MERS cases have been tracked back to.
They also utilized World Bank economic and per capita health care expenditure data to help determine individual countries’ capability to sense imported MERS in an apt manner and make an efficient public health response.
“With millions of foreign pilgrims set to congregate in Mecca and Medina between Ramadan and the Hajj, pilgrims could acquire and subsequently return to their home countries with MERS, either through direct exposure to the as-of-yet unidentified source or through contact domestic pilgrims who may be infected”, stated by researchers led by Dr. Kamran Khan, an infectious disease physician.
Unlike SARS, where the disease began into mostly high-income countries through air travel, more than half of all air travelers leaving Middle East have final destinations in low or lower-middle income countries. Two-thirds of all Hajj pilgrims came from low or lower-middle income countries.
Dr. Khan assumed, “Given that these countries have limited resources, they may difficulty quickly identifying imported MERS cases, implementing rigorous infection control precautions and responding effectively to newly introduced cases.”
