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MERS patient died in Osnabrück
After months of struggling for the lives of a 65-year-old MERS patient in a clinic near Osnabrück, the man has now died, according to the Lower Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs, Health and Equality, citing the Niels-Stensen-Kliniken.
The man from North Rhine-Westphalia had been infected in February during a trip on the Arabian Peninsula with the MERS virus. For months, the hospital staff at the Marienhospital (Niels-Stensen-Kliniken) tried to save the patient's life. "According to the hospital association, the patient had already overcome the actual MERS infection in the Marienhospital Osnabrück", according to the statement of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Health. However, in the night of June 6, the man died of another, later lung disease, in the hospital in Ostercappeln (Osnabrück district).
The deceased patient in Osnabrück had become infected with MERS during a trip on the Arabian peninsula. (Picture: jarun011 / fotolia.com) Infection on the Arabian Peninsula
The infection of the 65-year-old was probably on an animal market during his trip, reports the Lower Saxony Ministry of Health. It is believed that dromedaries transmit the MERS virus, which is why travelers on visits to the Arabian Peninsula in particular "warned of contact with dromedaries or with products derived from these". Another source of international concern is the MERS wave of infection in South Korea, where unrecognized male MERS infection in medical personnel, family members, co-patients and their relatives resulted in more than one hundred other illnesses, including deaths. The man had also been infected during a trip to the Arabian Peninsula with the MERS virus. A diseased contact person of the patient has already traveled from South Korea to China and was there tested positive and isolated.
No other people in Germany infected
In the case of Osnabrück, however, a transmission of the MERS virus to contact persons could be prevented, according to the Lower Saxony Minister of Health Cornelia Rundt, which was a great success for the medical staff and the authorities involved. The life of the 65-year-old could not save the doctors, however. "We deeply regret the death of this patient, our sympathy goes to the relatives who had hoped for an improvement in their state of health and now have to cope with this serious loss," says Cornelia Rundt.
Protective measures showed success
The Minister expressly praised the highly qualified and committed approach of all involved. "The local actors took this MERS case immediately seriously, the clinic and the local health department have started the necessary protective measures, such as the identification and isolation of suspected cases," said Rundt. More than 200 people have been screened for MERS and no other people have been infected. The participating partners of the Ministry of Social Affairs, such as the State Health Office, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the University of Bonn, are also grateful. The wave of infection in South Korea sadly makes it clear that "this coordinated management of MERS is imperative."
MERS known since 2012
There is usually no risk of infection with MERS in Germany, but travelers can lure in the viruses and subsequently infect other people, as was the case with the current wave of infection in South Korea. According to the RKI, the "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)" has been known since April 2012. At the beginning, the symptoms are comparable to an acute onset of influenza-like illness. The incubation period is usually one to two weeks. A common concomitant symptom is diarrhea. In severe cases, a pneumonia may occur, which may turn into an acute respiratory distress syndrome. Even kidney failure can sometimes be detected in severe cases. Affected by such serious disease processes are predominantly persons with chronic pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, cancer or immunosuppression. Overall, since the first appearance of MERS in 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported about 1300 laboratory confirmed MERS cases, mostly in the Arabian Peninsula. About 40 percent of the sick patients did not survive the infection. (Fp)