WHO held a meeting to discuss how to prevent a mysterious virus like SARS

The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened an emergency meeting, bringing together medical experts from many different countries, to find a solution against a mysterious, capable virus. Translated as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus is now considered to be the single biggest threat to the health of the world community after taking the lives of 38 people, mainly in Saudi Arabia. Concerned that a new pandemic could be more dangerous than SARS, 80 officials and doctors from many countries around the world have held emergency meetings in Cairo for 3 days, since June 19 to discuss how to deal with MERS. .

The move comes after four new deaths due to the MERS coronavirus recorded earlier this week and millions of Muslim pilgrims are expected to return to Saudi Arabia for the annual Mass of Ramadan.

The first mysterious MERS virus infection was discovered in Saudi Arabia in April 2012.(Photo: Getty Images)

"Everyone is very aware that Ramadan will start from next month and there will be a huge number of people coming to very small places. Therefore, we understand MERS better before the event. The lawsuit started, the better, " said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman.

The risk of spreading the disease also increased as in November, more than 2 million people are expected to join the pilgrimage to Mecca in the Middle East. Many experts are even concerned that visitors may bring their MERS virus back to their homeland because the virus has an incubation period of up to 12 days and a death rate of 60%.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, cases of MERS have been detected in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia and Jordan. Most of these cases are patients who are brought back to the country for treatment from the Middle East or those who have moved to the epidemic area and developed illness after returning home.

According to Dr. Jon Bible, the clinical specialist treated 1 in 3 British patients with MERS, who were always near death. They always have difficulty breathing like having severe pneumonia. His patient survived for many months to support artificial respiration and until now still had difficulty breathing. The peace of mind for the authorities is, MERS virus has not yet changed to be able to spread easily from person to person.

A group of international doctors conducted nearly 20 cases of MERS infection in eastern Saudi Arabia and found that the virus had some notable similarities with the culprit causing the SARS pandemic, which killed 800 people. spread all over the world in 2003. Symptoms of both of these respiratory diseases are fever and cough in the early stages, which may last a few days before progressing badly into pneumonia.

However, unlike SARS, scientists have not yet identified the origin of the new virus.