KUWAIT'S FIRST MERS CASE : THE CORONAVIRUS HAS ADDED ANOTHER COUNTRY TO ITS ROSTER

 

Kuwait was just added to the list of countries that has recorded cases of the MERS Coronavirus in the world. 

The first Kuwaiti patient was in very serious condition when moved to a special ward.  He is a man with an underlying condition, specifically diabetes and hypertension.  In almost all of the serious cases or deaths, the patients who had contracted the novel coronavirus had previous medical conditions which hampered his immune system and hastened his/her death.  

The MERS virus in fact, seems to be particularly lethal to those people with diabetes.  It provokes a shutdown of kidney function that is the hallmark of severe cases, and is the leading cause of death, a complication which did not exist with the SARS coronavirus.  

To date, there is no information on how the Kuwaiti patient might have contracted the disease.  Scientists are zoning in on possible natural reservoirs and methods of contraction and the virus' virality, but are no closer to understanding exactly what animal is the primary cause of the infection and how the infection is passed from human to human. 

So far, MERS has not exploded in numbers like SARS did.  However, it does have a much higher mortality.  Samples of infected lung tissues are being examined in Europe for possible development of a vaccine. 

Just this week, Saudi health authorities have identified a camel who was infected with MERS, giving more strength to the theory that while bats are the primary reservoir, the actual vehicle of the infection to the human species, might be the camel itself. 

Source : France 24/ 11.13.13