Press Release

Update on latest MERS situation in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

22 June 2016

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 22) closely monitoring 23 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (22 cases) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) (one case), and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of health risks in the places they visit.

"In view of additional MERS cases reported, the public should remain vigilant. Travellers to the Middle East in the upcoming summer vacation should not make any direct contact with camels or consume their raw products. They should also avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities," a spokesman for the CHP said.

The 22 patients in the KSA were four men and 18 women aged from 20 to 82. Eighteen of them were admitted to or worked in the hospital where a MERS outbreak is currently occurring while three of them were household contacts of the index patient. The remaining patient had frequently consumed raw camel milk.

The patient in the UAE was a 37-year-old man whose source of infection was under investigation.

To date, 1 762 cases have been reported to the WHO, including at least 629 deaths. Of note, 1 548 were confirmed in 10 Middle East countries, with 1 406 in the KSA, 79 in the UAE, 28 in Jordan, 15 in Qatar, seven in Oman, six in Iran, four in Kuwait, and one each in Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain.

"Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels, avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry, and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS Coronavirus," the spokesman said.

"We will maintain close communication with the WHO and relevant health authorities," the spokesman added.

Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the pages below for more information and health advice:

• The CHP's MERS page (This link will open in a new windowwww.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/26511.html);
• MERS statistics in affected areas (This link will open in a new windowwww.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/distribution_of_mers_cases_en.pdf);
• The MERS page of the DH's Travel Health Service (This link will open in a new windowwww.travelhealth.gov.hk/english/popup/popup.html);
• The WHO's latest news (This link will open in a new windowwww.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/coronavirus_infections/en).

Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP's health advice on MERS (This link will open in a new windowwww.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/26551.html).