Jordan Reports An Imported MERS Case From Saudi Arabia

 

# 10,450

 

Overnight the Arabic press lit up with reports of an imported case of MERS in Jordan’s capital city, Amman.  The patient – a male in his 60s – recently returned from working in Saudi Arabia.   A couple of reports.  

 

First, an English language report from PETRA, Jordan’s official news agency.

 

Jordan records coronavirus case of national coming from Saudi Arabia

Amman, August 25 (Petra) -- A new Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case has been recorded for a man who has recently come from Saudi Arabia, the country where most cases of this disease are reported.

The man, who is in his 60s, was admitted to a private hospital suffering from breathing difficulty, coughing and fever, the ministry of health said. He was diagnosed to have the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and he is now in critical condition, the ministry added.

Since 2012, 13 MERS cases have been recorded in Jordan, according to official data.
//Petra// AA  25/8/2015 - 08:54:08 PM

 

A few additional details can be gleaned from one of the (many) Arabic language reports, although they don’t translate as cleanly as we might like.

 

Recording the first infection "Corona" in Jordan during 2015

By Egypt and the Arab

Announced the Jordanian Ministry of Health, on Tuesday, recording the first case of infection with "Corona" to a citizen in the sixty years of age, Jordan recently entered coming from his work in Saudi Arabia.

The ministry said, in an official statement, "The injured are undergoing treatment in a private hospital in the capital Amman", describing his condition as "critical".

It had "diagnosed the injury through the active monitoring of acute respiratory infections, where the victim suffers from shortness of breath and severe cough with a fluid to accumulate in the membrane surrounding the lungs and high temperature."

She added that she "monitor acute respiratory diseases through four accredited health centers, and the circular to all hospitals to report cases of pneumonia, and take the necessary samples to check for the virus."

The case is the first such infection in Jordan during 2015, while the total number of cases to 13 cases, of which two were in 2012, and 10 in 2014

 

 

The assertion in both reports that up until now, Jordan has only seen 12 MERS cases, runs contrary to the `official counts’ being maintained by outside agencies.   As the chart below shows, the ECDC lists 19 cases in Jordan.  .

Discrepancies such as these typically occur when someone falls ill in one country, but travels to and gets diagnosed in another.  While `country where contracted’ is the preferred standard, sometimes that can be hard to pinpoint. 

 

This case serves as a reminder that – with an incubation period of up to 14 days – a MERS infected individual can easily travel anywhere in the world, and that hospitals everywhere need to be prepared to identify, isolate, and treat them. 

 

A point that becomes even more pertinent as we approach this year’s Hajj.