PARIS — French health authorities have isolated two people infected with the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) after they returned from a joint tour of the Arabian Peninsula, the health ministry said late Tuesday.
Both patients are in a “stable” condition in a French hospital, the ministry said in a statement, and all measures have been put in place to limit the risk of transmission to their entourage and to health-care staff.
- Advertisement -
The ministry said those measures include contact tracing, “barrier gestures,” screening, isolation and procedures to follow if symptoms — even moderate ones — appear. The statement did not identify the patients, their ages or the region of France where they are being treated.
MERS, caused by a coronavirus first identified in 2012, is generally considered less contagious but more deadly than the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, that spread from China in the early 2000s. The virus is thought to have originated in bats but most human infections are linked to dromedary camels.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, MERS has killed 958 people out of 2,640 reported cases between 2012 and November of this year, the majority occurring in Saudi Arabia.
Symptoms of MERS are similar to those of COVID-19, and include fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. The French health ministry noted that human-to-human transmission is rare but possible through direct or indirect contact, respiratory droplets and, occasionally, airborne spread.
French authorities said they are conducting epidemiological investigations to identify and notify anyone who had close contact with the patients during travel or after their return. Health officials advised that contacts be monitored for symptoms and follow the prescribed isolation and screening procedures.
France previously recorded two imported MERS cases in 2013, the ministry said. The current infections underline the persistent risk of imported cases tied to travel to the Arabian Peninsula, where sporadic outbreaks and isolated cases continue to be reported.
Public-health experts say vigilance remains critical because MERS carries a high case fatality rate even though sustained community transmission has been rare. Hospitals and clinics are instructed to follow infection prevention protocols when evaluating patients with fever or respiratory symptoms and a recent travel history to the Middle East.
Health authorities urged travelers to the region and those returning from it to seek medical advice promptly if they develop symptoms, and to inform health-care providers of recent travel. The ministry reiterated that routine infection-control practices — hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and early isolation of suspected cases — remain the frontline defense.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
