April 23, 2014 - 11:03 AM
The World Health Organization is expressing concern about the recent sharp rise in MERS cases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The organization is particularly worried about what it calls two significant outbreaks in health-care facilities.
The global case count of infections with MERS virus has skyrocketed this month, with about 140 new cases reported since the beginning of April.
To put that in context, that represents about 41 per cent of all cases of MERS diagnosed since the first known infections in April of 2012.
The WHO statement says about three quarters of the recently diagnosed cases involve person-to-person spread of the virus, with most of these cases being infected in hospitals.
The WHO says it has offered to pull together teams of international experts to help Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deal with the outbreaks.
The statement, issued by the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, says the global health agency believes there are "critical information gaps" related to how the virus is transmitting to and among people.
"WHO is unaware at this point in time of the specific types of exposure in the health-care facilities that have resulted in transmission of these infections, but this remains a concern," the statement says.
Many of the most recent cases have been health-care workers. Local media have reported that some doctors in Jeddah have quit rather than treat MERS patients. There appears to be a large hospital outbreak in Jeddah.
Earlier this week the country's executive council fired the health minister. While no official reason was given, it is believed dissatisfaction with his handling of the MERS outbreak was behind the move.
To date the WHO has confirmed 253 MERS infections and 93 deaths. But the organization's tally lags far behind actual the number of cases reported by affected countries. A combination of WHO and country reports puts the global count at about 350 case, and more than 100 deaths.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014