MERS-CoV Infection: 6 New Cases Reported in Saudi Arabia - Essay Sample

Introduction

"Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)" is an infectious viral respiratory disease that has attacked Saudi Arabia as reported on 26th September 2019 by the World Health Organization. This infection, also known as camel flu, is caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and was first reported in 2012 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. According to the "National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia," there were six additional laboratory cases reported on the MERS-CoV infection through 31st August 2019 (World Health Organization 2019). The most alarming reported issue on the virus is the case identified in the Najran region where the virus infected a person during a contact with a household in Taif region in Saudi Arabia. The reports received by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that by 31st August 2019, the number of confirmed MERS-CoV infections was 2464 globally and 850 associated deaths.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Cause of the Infectious Disease

Primarily, the "Middle East respiratory syndrome," according to the World Health Organization (2019), is caused by "MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV)." The MERS-CoV is transmitted by respiratory secretions, either through direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels, according to Mobaraki and Ahmadzadeh (2019). This infection is a zoonotic virus, implying that it can be practically transmitted between humans and animals, primarily the camels. Therefore consuming animal products such as camel's raw milk, urine, and uncooked meat is cited as the leading cause of the MERS-CoV disease, as argued by Zumla, Hui, and Perlman (2015). Furthermore, the other source of this infection includes exposure to dromedary camels, where people who come into contact with the camels or visit barns where the virus is circulating acquire the disease. Therefore, the interaction between camels and humans causes the transmission of the virus in the community. On the other end, social interactions between humans, commonly in healthcare settings, boost the transfer of the MERS-CoV infection from one person to another and from a place to another. As much as there are no travel and trade restrictions imposed by WHO, intensified interactions among states dictate the rate at which the infection would take charge.

Health Risk From the Infectious Disease

Infections with the "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV)" lead to high morbidity and mortality rates, with deaths emerging from respiratory failures (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019). Coronaviruses can potentially cause a wide range of infections, ranging from the simple common cold to very "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome," as reported by the World Health Organization (2019). In this case, lungs are the most affected organs, although in some cases, the brain is also affected. In most cases, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome patients with brain infection experience long-term neurological sequelae. On the other end, people with compromised immune systems and underlying chronic health issues are more exposed to MERS-CoV infection (Zumla, Hui & Perlman (2015). Eventually, most of the confirmed deaths among MERS-CoV victims result from people with poor medical conditions such as renal failure and diabetes mellitus.

Prevention of the Virus

Case management, isolation of the infected people, advance scrutiny, and identification are some of the measures that should be added to the prevention of the virus, and control the human-to-human contraction of MERS-CoV infection. Nevertheless, the control measures for this infection are very critical because it is almost impossible to notify the people with MERS-CoV infection at the early stages. Like the other respiratory diseases, at the early stages of the virus, the symptoms of this infection are merely not specific and therefore becoming hard to identify, as argued by Mobaraki and Ahmadzadeh (2019). However, droplet precautions should be conducted when attending to patients diagnosed with acute respiratory diseases to avoid the spread of the virus from the patients to health care providers. Besides, sufficient emphasization on eye protection, airborne, and contact precautions should be considered while dealing with cases confirmed relating to MERS-CoV infections. People with low immune systems are advised to avoid any unmonitored contact with the camels. Lastly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019), citizens should avoid places where the virus is suspected to be present.

Importance of Cultural Competence Care

Cultural competence in communicating public health plays a significant role in creating awareness among countries whether the MERS-CoV infection has been confirmed in the society or not. For instance, WHO is in the front line to encourage the member states and countries to enhance vigilance, mostly the states with a large number of migrant workers from the Middle East. On another note, cultural competence is crucial in alerting the member states to report any potential MERS-CoV infection threat to the WHO agency (Mobaraki & Ahmadzadeh 2019). The public should be aware of their exposure, clinical course, and testing to plan well for the most effective responses both locally and internationally.

The Cultural Group That May Be Impacted by the Disease

Accurately, the MERS-CoV infection is reported to be intense in Middle East Saudi Arabia, where approximately 80% of infection has been reported among the citizens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019). Some of the rare occasions confirmed about the outbreak of MERS-CoV infection outside the Middle East results from infected people who move to and from the Middle East. The epidemic has, however, been confirmed to have the potential of circulating in all states across the world. Precisely, 27 countries have been reported MERS-CoV infection cases since 2012, as mentioned in the World Health Organization (2019). Additionally, most cases have been reported to occur in healthcare settings, showing that human-to-human infection is very rapid, especially in the Middle East. The most convenient way to communicate risk and prevention information is through creating awareness of the cultural group affected by the disease to avoid unprotected contact with respiratory secretions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, according to Mobaraki and Ahmadzadeh (2019), people have frequent unprotected contact with dromedary camels and other infected people without knowing.

Efficacy of Communication

In making sure that my communication strategy is expressing cultural competency, I would provide some prevention measures to the issues affecting the selected cultural group. Addressing the current most troubling health issue in society is an effective way to ensure cultural competency. Considering a national problem leading to high mortality rates in a state and the possible remedies for the issue, I would create awareness for the cultural groups to report any uncommon health behaviors, especially respiratory problems. MERS-CoV infection is an unfamiliar infection with the ability to destroy the mind as well as respiratory systems in human beings; therefore, my selected communication strategy would create awareness as well as remedies for such infection.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). CDC Features. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html

Mobaraki, K. & Ahmadzadeh, J. (2019). "Current epidemiological status of middle east respiratory syndrome Coronavirus." BMC Infectious Diseases. Retrieved from https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-019-3987-2

World Health Organization (2019). Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 26 September 2019. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/csr/don/26-september-2019-mers-saudi-arabia/en/

World Health Organization (2019). Middle East respiratory syndrome. MERS situation update, September 2019. Retrieved from http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/mers-cov/mers-outbreaks.html

World Health Organization (2019). WHO MERS global summary and assessment of risk, July 2019. World Health Organization Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/326126.

Zumla A. Hui DS., Perlman S. (2015). "Middle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet. Retrieved from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60454-8/fulltext