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February 18, 2019 | 10:45
by Times News Service
Muscat: Authorities dismissed rumors that a hospital would be closed due to a Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak.
Hilal Al Sirdani, representative of Sohar on the Shura Council, told the Times of Oman why hospital officials decided to suspend his services at Sohar hospital.
"What happened was that the virus was transferred to one of the wings of the hospital, and the hospital administration transferred the patients in that wing to another half-wing. isolated. The officials then decontaminated the wing; the process also included checking doctors and all personnel working in the wing as a precautionary measure. "
Al Sirdani thinks the residents of Sohar were worried about the rumors. He added that people should only pay attention to information posted on official sites.
As a result of the clean-up process, visiting hours were delayed by about 45 minutes, causing people to spread rumors about the outbreak. The ministry has issued guidelines for people, including shaking hands, not spending too much time on visits, and not staying too close to patients.
According to Al Sirdani, people should stay calm, the ministry controlling the situation.
"All this (the decontamination of the wing) took place as a precaution. It is true that the disease exists, but a team has been set up by the Ministry of Health and control of the situation.
Five of the MERS cases notified to Oman in 2019 belonged to the same family, WHO said. Cases reported this year included women residing in Batinah North governorate. The youngest was 30 years old and the oldest was 59 years old. Two of these women were 38 years old and one of them 43 years old.
Each of these five women belonged to the same family and lived on a farm where camels and other animals were kept.
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) said: "The five laboratory confirmed cases belong to women of the same family and the age range is 30 to 59 years old. The source of infection in this cluster is under study in Oman and four of the five cases appear to be secondary cases resulting from interpersonal transmission. Although not all cases reported direct contact with camels, they were living on a farm where camels and other animals were being held. The Ministry of Agriculture is testing camels.
The first of these cases was reported on January 19, the last one was recorded on the 31st. With the exception of the two 38-year-olds, the other three had previous health problems recorded by the WHO.
The 43-year-old woman was suffering from hypertension and had already undergone hemi-thyroidectomy and craniotomy. She died on February 4, after being hospitalized on January 17. The 30-year-old woman, who had a history of diabetes mellitus, died a day earlier on February 3, after being admitted on January 25, three days later. she was diagnosed for the first time.
The 59-year-old woman, who also suffers from diabetes mellitus and hypertension, also has ischemic heart disease and chronic kidney disease.
High risk
A spokesman for the WHO said: "In any case, the investigation into the exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days before the onset of symptoms is In progress. Ministry of Health officials in Oman established a contact list for caregivers and family contacts in North Batinah governorate. As of 4 February, 60 family contacts have been identified, including 26 at high risk. "
"All household members of the MERS coronavirus (VOC) cases were screened for MERS-VOC and tested negative, with the exception of one case reported above, which is It is revealed positive on January 28, "added the official. "As of 4 February, 119 contacts with health workers had been identified. All contacts of high-risk health care workers were screened for MERS-VOC and all were negative. All identified contacts are monitored for 14 days from the last date of exposure, in accordance with national and WHO guidelines regarding MERS-VOC infection. "
Peter Salama, Deputy Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response, said, "Five cases were reported in January 2019 and the total number is now 16. MERS-VOC confirmed cases in Oman since 2013. The WHO encourages all states to continue monitoring respiratory infections and to carefully consider any unusual trends. "
Humans can contract the MERS after coming in contact with camels, one of the main vectors (carriers of diseases) of the MERS.
Humans can contract the MERS after coming in contact with camels, one of the main vectors (carriers of diseases) of the MERS.
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