The CDC is suggesting travelers take the usual precautions against respiratory illness -- including good hand hygiene -- and see a doctor if they have symptoms after returning.
Nation of Islam Muslims & Muslims of the World... Returning from Hajj or Ramadan Take Precautions! Three new cases of infection with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) -- including two more healthcare workers -- have been reported in Saudi Arabia. The two healthcare workers, both women, have mild symptoms after exposure to patients who had laboratory-confirmed MERS, the World Health Organization reported. ... The illness of the healthcare workers underscores warnings earlier this year that MERS -- like SARS before it -- is capable of transmission in hospitals and other healthcare settings with "considerable morbidity."
The three new cases bring the global total of laboratory-confirmed MERS cases to 94, including 46 deaths.
The illness has been centered on four Middle East countries -- Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates -- with a handful of cases reported in England, Germany, France, Italy, and Tunisia. Most of the cases outside the Middle East have had epidemiological links with the region. The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided that -- for the moment at least -- the outbreak does not meet criteria for an international public health emergency, and the agency has not suggested any travel restrictions for the region.
...But the annual Hajj pilgrimage is on the horizon -- it will take place in mid-October this year -- and millions of Muslims are expected to make their way to Saudi Arabia to mark the event. The Saudi health ministry has suggested that some pilgrims might want to stay home -- those older than 65 or under 12, pregnant women, and anyone with a chronic disease, immune deficiency, malignancy, or terminal illness.
Read more:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDise...
Posted By: Jen Fad
Saturday, August 3rd 2013 at 1:40PM
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