German visitor to UAE contracts Mers

ABU DHABI // A German man who travelled to Abu Dhabi last month is in hospital after contracting Mers.

The 65-year-old, who returned to Germany on February 8, was taken to hospital after developing symptoms shortly after arriving home, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

Mers-CoV was confirmed in two laboratory tests, the most recent on March 5.

WHO said the man was is in a severe but stable condition. “All necessary, recommended, preventive and control measures have been applied since February 23 at the hospital, where he is being treated.

“Contact tracing of all possible contacts is ongoing for this case,” WHO said. No additional cases have yet been found.

Last month in Abu Dhabi, a 38-year-old expatriate died after contracting Mers. It was the first reported case in the UAE in more than six months.

According to WHO, the man had no chronic or long term medical conditions and no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days before the onset of symptoms.

The last known cases of Mers in the UAE were reported to WHO on July 14.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a virus that causes acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. More than 85 per cent of cases were reported in Saudi Arabia.

WHO has been notified of 1,041 confirmed cases, of which 383 have proved fatal.