Jakarta. Despite a gradual increase in public-health warnings issued by the Ministry of Health over Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), health authorities have no plans to declare a public-health emergency over the virus.
“After a long discussion, the emergency committee has concluded that, even though the problem is becoming increasingly serious, there is no scientific evidence of a sustained level of human-to-human transmission,” Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the ministry’s head of research and development, said on Thursday.
Tjandra said 15 scientists from 13 countries, had held a five-hour teleconference earlier in the week to discuss the medium-term outlook for a coronavirus that has infected around 260 people and killed 93.
MERS is a deadly virus that affects the respiratory system and renal function. Most cases have stemmed from Saudi Arabia, making Indonesia, which has more Muslims than any other country, of great concern for public-health officials because of the high number of Muslim pilgrims traveling to and from the kingdom.
Tjandra reiterated that Indonesia had not issued any travel warning or travel restriction for people planning to fly to Saudi Arabia, citing a recent World Health Organization field report in the kingdom which indicated no relationship between the increasing number of cases and mode of transmission.
The Ministry of Health’s position is that there is not enough evidence of a mutation in the virus to predicate a sustained level of human-to-human transmission that would warrant the declaration of a state of emergency.
Indonesia has yet to confirm a case of MERS in the country, but an 84-year-old Indonesian pilgrim tested positive in Saudi Arabia last week and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jeddah.
Last week, a 61 year-old man from North Sumatra died shortly after he landed back from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Officials suspected the man had succumbed to MERS, but this could not be proved because of a family objection to running tests.
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