The virus, first detected in humans two years back, has caused 152 deaths
Despite a recent surge of ‘Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus’(MERS-CoV) cases, a meeting of an expert committee called by the World Health Organisation has concluded that conditions for declaring an ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ had not been met.
The fifth meeting of WHO’s Emergency Committee for MERS-CoV, which was first convened last July, took place by teleconference on Tuesday. The Committee took into account the fact that there had been sharp increase in cases since this March, particularly in Saudi Arabia but also in the United Arabian Emirates. Moreover, a majority of these cases had occurred in hospital settings, said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General, during a press briefing today.
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