Two dead and three in quarantine as Indonesia MERS fears build

[webfact]

Two dead and three in quarantine as Indonesia MERS fears build



JAKARTA: -- Three residents of Pekanbaru, Riau were placed in quarantine because they showed symptoms of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after two men died, likely from the infection, in Denpasar, Bali, and Medan, North Sumatra, according to Riau Health Agency head Zainal Arifin.

He said they have just returned from the minor hajj and have MERS indicators. The virus is similar to the one that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China between 2002 and 2003, killing some 800 people. It was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Saudi Arabia is a nightmare for epidemiologists because hajj pilgrims travel there, spend time in dense crowds, and disperse back to the far corners of the world with the potential to carry infections home. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians make the journey each year. The Indonesian government has urged the pious to postpone their pilgrimages until the extent of the outbreak is better understood.

A doctor who treated two of the quarantined patients at Awal Bros hospital in Riau, said that they had high fevers and difficulty breathing. “In the latest examination, the condition of the patients had improved and the fevers had dropped,” he said.

A man who died in Medan, North Sumatera on Sunday after returning from Saudi Arabia was likely the country’s first victim of the virus, a health official said on Tuesday.

A second possible victim died in Bali on Wednesday morning, also after returning from Saudi Arabia. The 50-year-old Nusa Dua resident, identified as A.S., passed away twelve hours after he was admitted to Sangha Hospital in Denpasar.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/two-dead-three-quarantine-indonesia-mers-fears-build/


-- Thai PBS 2014-05-08

[Costas2008]

Has Thailand issued a travel warning to their citizens yet?

NO.

Only just concerned.

[Gweiloman]

Has Thailand issued a travel warning to their citizens yet?

NO.

Only just concerned.

Has Greece issued a travel warning to her citizens yet?

[MikeThaison]

Gotta be Biological warfare from Israel and the US.

[NeverSure]

Gotta be Biological warfare from Israel and the US.

How's that LSD workin' out for you otherwise?

[I Like Thai]

Just the Pharma companies starting another scare to up profits.

The flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year. The 800 killed in 2002/03 from SARS is an insignificant number.

[Chicog]

Just the Pharma companies starting another scare to up profits.

The flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year. The 800 killed in 2002/03 from SARS is an insignificant number.

But the flu kills mostly the elderly and the weak.

MERS is far more effective..

[I Like Thai]

Just the Pharma companies starting another scare to up profits.

The flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year. The 800 killed in 2002/03 from SARS is an insignificant number.

But the flu kills mostly the elderly and the weak.

MERS is far more effective..

That's what they said about Ebola, SARS, Swine Flu etc. But they all fizzled out.

[Carmine6]

Just the Pharma companies starting another scare to up profits.

The flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year. The 800 killed in 2002/03 from SARS is an insignificant number.

But the flu kills mostly the elderly and the weak.

MERS is far more effective..

That's what they said about Ebola, SARS, Swine Flu etc. But they all fizzled out.

Ebola continues to kill people. Part of what keeps it in check is that it is so deadly, people can't travel far enough, fast enough to expose enough other people.

Story from today.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dramatic-improvement-controlling-ebola-outbreak-23655521

[Chicog]

Just the Pharma companies starting another scare to up profits.

The flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year. The 800 killed in 2002/03 from SARS is an insignificant number.

But the flu kills mostly the elderly and the weak.

MERS is far more effective..

That's what they said about Ebola, SARS, Swine Flu etc. But they all fizzled out.

No it isn't what they said about it at all..

The annual 'flu death rate is about 1.5 deaths per 100,000 infected.

Ebola's mortality rate is possibly as high as 90% and that's why it doesn't spread, it kills relatively quickly. There are Ebola outbreaks all the time.

SARS kills about 10% of those infected, Swine Flu less than that.

But MERS has a mortality rate of 40% and there is no treatment or cure, and *that's* the reason it is causing concern.

Having said that, the majority of infections so far have been in health care facilities.

But one of the biggest concerns is that MERS infections spiked in April, which could indicate a change in the way the virus behaves. One of the mitigating factors is that apparently it is not very good at jumping from human to human. But if the virus learns to bounce around like the ordinary flu then it would become a serious problem.