WHO Says MERS Cases Are Decreasing But Countries Should Still Stay Alert

The authorities in Saudi Arabia warned the Umrah pilgrims to postpone their plan of performing the minor pilgrimage this year due to increase in the number of deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS) virus cases. However, now it seems that the authorities have taken some serious steps to deal with the fatal virus, as a drop in MERS cases has been observed. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed this report on Tuesday, June 17, but the organization has also warned the countries to stay vigilant for the pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia, according to Yahoo News.

The World Health Organization revealed in a statement that the increase in the number of MERS cases that was witnessed back in April is now declining and there was no indication of human-to-human transmission in societies. The health agency of the United Nations also said that the situation, however, is still little distressful considering the fact that the number of visitors to Saudi Arabia is likely to increase in the coming days due to Umrah, Ramadan and later for Hajj.

The announcement was released by WHO after a teleconference between the officials of seven different countries where several cases of MERS virus were reported. The countries include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Netherland, UAE, USA, Jordan and Algeria. So far 284 people have lost their lives in Saudi Arabia due to deadly MERS virus since it has emerged back in April 2012. While hundreds others got seriously affected by this disease, as 22 countries had reported about MERS cases. 

MERS is considered as a cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus that killed hundreds of people in Asia and majority in China. Although, MERS is considered more deadly than SARS but it is less transmissible than its cousin. It is because of this very reason, WHO has not found MERS virus transforming from one person to another person. However, initial investigation of WHO has indicated that close connection with camels is most probably the source of MERS.

Each year millions of Muslim pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia to perform minor and major pilgrimages and to spend Ramadan in the holy land. Thus year Ramadan will begin in July while Haj will take place two months after the holy month, so once again a lot of visitors are expected to enter in Saudi Arabia this year. You too can visit the sacred land during this Ramadan without exhausting all your savings, as British Haj Travel Ltd has offered exclusive Ramadan packages to British pilgrims.