Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, described the MERS virus as a “threat to the entire world” during a speech in Geneva.
Calling it a “threat to the entire world,” the head of the World
Health Organization sounded the alarm over the Middle Eastern virus that
has so far killed 24 people.
Speaking on Monday in Geneva at the global health monitor’s
annual conference, Dr. Margaret Chan did not mince words about the
SARS-like novel coronavirus that researchers call MERS.
“Looking at the overall global situation, my greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus. We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat. Any new disease that is emerging faster than our understanding is never under control,” Dr Chan said. “These are alarm bells and we must respond. The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself. The novel coronavirus is a threat to the entire world.”
One day after Chan’s speech, health officials in France announced the death of a 65-year-old man who had apparently contracted the MERS virus after traveling to Dubai.
So far, the WHO says that more than half of the people who have been diagnosed with MERS have died. The organization said that 24 of 44 confirmed MERS cases have ended in death.
In a move that might complicate finding a vaccine, Dutch scientists have taken the unusual step of patenting the killer virus.
Erasmus Medical Center researchers Albert Osterhaus and Ron Fouchier received a sample of the virus from a Saudi doctor who was stumped by the first known case. The virologists then patented it, angering the World Health Organization and Saudi officials, who say that doing so is impeding the search for treatment.
“Making deals between scientists because they want to take out IP and
be the first to publish in scientific journals, we cannot allow that.
No intellectual property should stand in the way of you protecting your
people,” Chan said during her speech on Monday.
The Dutch researchers said that they patented the virus in order to spark drug companies’ interest in developing a vaccine and denied that they had kept the virus from anyone.
“We’re still sharing this virus with everyone who wants to do public health research,” Osterhaus told Bloomberg.
Cases have so far been confirmed in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The hospital roommate of the French man who died Tuesday has now also been diagnosed with the virus.
“A novel coronavirus was identified in 2012 as the cause of respiratory illness in people,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website. “Their symptoms included fever, cough, and shortness of breath.”
Still, there is much that the medical community has yet to discover about MERS.
“We do not know where the virus hides in nature,” Chan said in Geneva. We do not know how people are getting infected. Until we answer these questions, we are empty-handed when it comes to prevention.”
“Looking at the overall global situation, my greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus. We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat. Any new disease that is emerging faster than our understanding is never under control,” Dr Chan said. “These are alarm bells and we must respond. The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself. The novel coronavirus is a threat to the entire world.”
One day after Chan’s speech, health officials in France announced the death of a 65-year-old man who had apparently contracted the MERS virus after traveling to Dubai.
So far, the WHO says that more than half of the people who have been diagnosed with MERS have died. The organization said that 24 of 44 confirmed MERS cases have ended in death.
In a move that might complicate finding a vaccine, Dutch scientists have taken the unusual step of patenting the killer virus.
Erasmus Medical Center researchers Albert Osterhaus and Ron Fouchier received a sample of the virus from a Saudi doctor who was stumped by the first known case. The virologists then patented it, angering the World Health Organization and Saudi officials, who say that doing so is impeding the search for treatment.
AP PHOTO/HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY
While the cronovirus causes the common cold, the novel conovirus, or MERS, has killed more than half of those who have been diagnosed with it.
The Dutch researchers said that they patented the virus in order to spark drug companies’ interest in developing a vaccine and denied that they had kept the virus from anyone.
“We’re still sharing this virus with everyone who wants to do public health research,” Osterhaus told Bloomberg.
Cases have so far been confirmed in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The hospital roommate of the French man who died Tuesday has now also been diagnosed with the virus.
“A novel coronavirus was identified in 2012 as the cause of respiratory illness in people,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website. “Their symptoms included fever, cough, and shortness of breath.”
Still, there is much that the medical community has yet to discover about MERS.
“We do not know where the virus hides in nature,” Chan said in Geneva. We do not know how people are getting infected. Until we answer these questions, we are empty-handed when it comes to prevention.”
No comments:
Post a Comment