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MERS-CoV detected in 21st country....no party ensues

Algeria has reported 2 cases of MERS-CoV infection among two men (66 and 59-years of age) returning from performing Umrah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).[1,2] 

No indication of any local transmission as yet. Seems the pilgrims arrived with signs and symptoms of disease so, as Crawford Kilian asks[6], just how carefully are authorities at KSA exit points examining departing people for signs of respiratory disease? 


Click on image to enlarge.

While we await confirmation that all the laboratory "I"s have been dotted and "T"s crossed, I wonder if there was any camel/animal contact or if these men visited a hospital while there? If the answer to these questions is no, then we're left to suspect that there may be a lot more community transmission going on than we are getting wind of. 

Daily total MERS-CoV detections have dropped to low levels and healthcare worker involvement no longer noted (i. because there are none or ii. because profession is no longer considered valid demographic detail for public consumption), so if not from animals or hospitals...then from where?

Less speculative is that we're also waiting on scrubbed detail from the WHO on hundreds of KSA cases, a Philippines case and detail about what is happening in Iran too. We've been waiting a while for some of that.

hat-tipping @crof, @Fla-Medic and @FluTrackers 

References...

  1. http://www.tsa-algerie.com/2014/05/31/coronavirus-deux-cas-confirmes-en-algerie/
  2. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/05/algeria-confirms-first-mers-cases-201453118430877511.html
  3. http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=536454&posted=1#post536454
  4. http://afludiary.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/algerian-moh-statement-on-two-mers-cases.html
  5. http://www.sante.dz/communique_coronavirus.pdf
  6. http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2014/05/algeria-a-very-litte-more-about-the-two-mers-cases.html

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