Household pets like cats and dogs could be partially to blame for the spread of the mysterious Mers virus, an expert has said, as scientists around the world struggle to understand more about how the deadly infection is transmitted.Columbia University’s Dr Thomas Briese is the lead author of a recent study that conclusively proved the version of the disease currently affecting humans is the same as the one carried by camels.But the virus, which was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since killed around 200 people across almost 600 cases, does not appear to have a disproportionate impact on people who deal with camels on a daily basis – and some people have been infected after no reported contact with the animals whatsoever.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has now been identified by the World Health Organisation as a “threat to the entire world”, but experts admit there are a great many “unknowns” in our knowledge of how the disease spreads.
DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Iranian officials say they have confirmed the country;s first two cases of MERS, a deadly virus first reported two years ago in Saudi Arabia, its neighbour on the western side of the Gulf.
The health ministry says four new cases are confirmed to have been infected with the disease. The ministry added that the total number of infections in the kingdom is now nearly 560.
As concern mounts worldwide over Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, state health officials are issuing protocols for health care workers and local hospitals are reviewing quarantine policies.
The disease, while still rare, has mainly been diagnosed in countries in and around the Arabian Peninsula, but health officials are preparing here because the New York metropolitan area, with its diverse population and three airports, is more apt to see people who may have been exposed to the virus.
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