Qatar has been able to identify the cause of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (Mers-CoV) and initiate necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease successfully.
“We are the first country to identify the causes for Mers-CoV and take adequate measures to prevent the spread of the disease very effectively,” Dr Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, director of Public Health, SCH, told Gulf Times.
“In collaboration with the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, we were the first country to prove conclusively after an extensive study and research that the disease was spread from camels," the senior official pointed out on the sidelines of the International Conference in Emergency Medicine and Public Health. The Netherlands facility had conducted several researches to identify the reasons for Mers-CoV.
“This helped us to identify and concentrate on the camel farms, mainly in the Sheehaniya area. Now, we have also an early warning system. If any cases are suspected or reported, we make a standard inspection and make sure that the case is not spread by taking steps in the very early stage. This has helped in supporting the people with early treatment as well as by giving necessary guidelines for others."
According to the official, all the hospitals and health centres under Hamad Medical Corporation and the Primary Health Care Corporation have been given clear guidelines on how to treat any person suffering from Mers-CoV. The state of preparedness to monitor suspected cases and ensure full implementation of infection prevention and control measures at all healthcare facilities is in place so that the disease will have very minimal impact.
Dr Sheikh Mohamed pointed out that Qatar has taken effective measures to counter any communicable disease. There has been no outbreak of any disease in the country in the recent times. All such cases are effectively tackled by the infection control department and the country is well prepared to meet any such eventuality.
The SCH official also highlighted that Qatar, in implementing the National Health Strategy, has achieved 77% success in preventive health and hope to increase it to 90%.
“The mortality rate due to road traffic accidents is reduced to 8.2 per 100,000 in 2014, the severity of accidents has been reduced by 18.3% and fatal accidents by 10%. The mortality rate due to road accidents was 26 for 100,000 in 2006,” he added.