Abu Dhabi: A number of rumours have been circulating in the UAE over the last month regarding the risk of infection by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (Mers-CoV).

A senior health official, however, warned against getting taken in by these false claims that are being spread over social media networks, stressing that they have been released by unscrupulous sources and have little basis in fact.

“We want people to be aware of the nature of Mers-CoV, and understand that the majority of infections in the UAE have occurred among people with low immunity, such as the elderly and those with chronic diseases,” Dr Farida Al Hosani, manager of the communicable diseases department at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), told Gulf News.

One of the most widely-shared rumours alleges that “UAE health authorities” have warned people to stay away for 72 hours from places such as malls, beaches, hospitals, parks, and other such locations that are deemed “hotspots” of the “new killing virus [corona]”. It adds that five infected patients in Al Ain have died, and urges the recipient to keep forwarding the message in order to combat “the fast spreading disease”.

“Residents must differentiate between facts, and unverified reports such as these that are being disseminated. There is no cause for concern. In fact, the only reason HAAD is releasing details about every case of infection is to keep people informed and ensure transparency. This should not be mistakenly understood to mean that the situation is getting worse,” Dr Farida said.

Precautionary measure

Although the virus is known to have a 40 to 50 per cent mortality rate, the official also emphasised that many of the reported cases eventually recover from the disease without medical intervention. In fact, many infected patients are hospitalised in accordance with an international precautionary measure to keep them under observation and away from healthy individuals.

“Within 10 to 14 days, a lot of the patients get better without any medication, and their isolation simply helps limit the transmission of Mers-CoV. For example, there were a number of affected health care workers in Abu Dhabi in July 2013, but they were all discharged after two weeks. Perhaps people believe that the virus is scary because they are not aware of all the cases of recovery,” Dr Farida said.

Since September 2012, there have been 238 cases of Mers-CoV infection around the world, according to the latest disease outbreak update released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on April 16. Of these, 92 people have succumbed to the illness.

From the beginning of April, 10 new cases have been reported in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. This includes six paramedics in Al Ain, one of whom has died.

Parents can however rest easy about their children, as Dr Farida stressed that very few children have been affected by Mers-CoV.

Good news

“As there are so few cases around the world, health experts don’t yet understand everything about the virus. But children are one of the least affected groups, and this is definitely good news,” she said.

There is no vaccine for the disease yet, and its source is not yet known, although camels and bats have been pointed out as possible sources.

HAAD is also working to develop a system so that residents are updated when infected patients get better. In the meantime, people can visit the HAAD website at www.haad.ae for further information, or call 800555 and 800800 to obtain any clarifications about Mers-CoV.