WHO urges countries to continue monitoring coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged all member-states, including Saudi Arabia and France, to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infection and examine those suffering from pneumonia and to carefully review any unusual patterns, the WHO said in a statement issued yesterday.
“WHO is currently working with international experts and countries where coronavirus cases have been reported to assess the situation and review recommendations for surveillance and monitoring,” the statement said.
In Saudi Arabia, two new cases were reported in Al-Ahsa region, bringing the total number to 15, including seven who died of the disease. “The two new cases were found by testing patients who had fallen ill last month but no one realized at that moment it was the coronavirus,” said Dr. Ziad Memish, who heads the ministry’s Disease Prevention Unit.
According to a statement of the Ministry of Health, a 58-year-old man confirmed having contracted the virus. He was treated and discharged on May 8. The other patient was a 42-year-old man, who is still under treatment at the hospital and is in stable condition.
WHO has been informed of 30 confirmed cases of the virus globally, 18 of which have died. Cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Britain and Germany.
Yesterday, WHO team arrived in the Kingdom to meet with local health officials on the newly detected coronavirus.
Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman, said the purpose of the WHO mission is to better understand the situation and to provide guidance. The WHO team will hold discussions with the Ministry of Health.
Coronavirus is most closely related to a virus found in bats. Scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection. The WHO has advised countries to test any people with unexplained pneumonia.
For this purpose, Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabiah, will launch today the Saudi Health Exhibition and Conference of 2013, which aims to review the systems, infrastructures and facilities as regards the health care sector and hospitals.