ABU DHABI // Two people who contracted the Mers coronavirus earlier this year have recovered, said the Health Authority Abu Dhabi.
Both patients were given the all-clear last month after ridding themselves of the virus and have since been discharged from hospital.
One of the patients, a 67-year-old man, was first admitted to hospital on June 17. By July 2 his condition had deteriorated dramatically and he was moved to the ICU of a local hospital. Several days later he tested positive for the virus.
The elderly man had visited his camel farm, in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia, three months before falling ill, said Haad. During this time he had been in direct contact with the camels.
The authority also reported that the man had visited a camel farm in Abu Dhabi two weeks before being admitted to hospital, although he had not touched any animals.
On both visits, the man had not come into contact with any previously documented cases of Mers.
The second case involved a 50-year-old Abu Dhabi resident who was also in direct contact with camels. The patient was tested on July 3 for the virus, although he showed no symptoms until several days later, when he developed an acute cough. He tested positive for Mers the following day.
It was also confirmed that the man had not been in contact with anyone else who had tested positive.
Haad continues to follow up on the health of every person who came into contact with the patients.
According to the World Health Organisation, the current situation does not pose a threat to public health, require any travel restrictions anywhere in the world nor require examination procedures at border crossings.
The Ministry of Health and Haad confirmed that all responsible government bodies in the UAE continued to monitor the situation.
At the beginning of the month, Saudi Arabia reported 10 confirmed new cases of the virus during Ramadan and Eid, bringing the total confirmed cases in the kingdom since Mers was identified in 2012, to 721, resulting in 298 fatalities.
Globally, 837 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers, including at least 291 related deaths, have officially been reported to the WHO.
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