Recent News

By Region: Middle East

Scientists plan new, potentially controversial bird flu research

(LATimes) Flu researchers Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Ron Fouchier found themselves in the middle of a firestorm when, in 2011, they reported how, in separate experiments, they had created mutant strains of the H5N1 bird flu that were able to pass easily between ferrets — mammals often studied to understand how flu passes between people. On Read More »

August 8, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, International, and Research
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Trapped in a Killing Field: MIT Study Suggests Travel Restrictions in the Event of an Epidemic

(ThePeoplesVoice) A study published in The Royal Society Interface by researchers at MIT may influence policy as to potential travel restrictions in an epidemic. The study suggests that such restrictions will slow the progress of a pandemic. What is implicit in the paper’s recommendations is that people may be confined—quarantined in fact—to a heavily affected Read More »

August 5, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, and Bioterrorism
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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

(WHO) WHO has been informed of an additional three laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in Saudi Arabia. The first patient is a 67-year-old woman from Riyadh with underlying medical conditions. She became ill on 25 July 2013. She has no known exposure to animals or to a case confirmed with Read More »

August 2, 2013
| Filed under Middle East, North America, and International
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Does the dangerous new Middle East coronavirus have an African origin?

(EurekAlert) The MERS-coronavirus is regarded as a dangerous novel pathogen: Almost 50 people have died from infection with the virus since it was first discovered in 2012. To date all cases are connected with the Arabian peninsula. Scientists from the University Bonn (Germany) and South Africa have now detected a virus in the faeces of Read More »

July 25, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, International, and Public Health
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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

(WHO) WHO has been informed of two additional laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in Saudi Arabia. Both the cases are currently critically ill and hospitalized in ICUs. The first case is a 41-year-old Saudi male in Riyadh who presented to the hospital with symptoms on 15 July. The second patient Read More »