Qatar takes part in WHO Cmte on MERS-CoV

Qatar's Supreme Council of Health said Saturday it took part in the second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by WHO's Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) to assess the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) situation. The meeting, held by teleconference on Wednesday, July 17, gathered Members of the Emergency Committee and expert advisor to the Committee Ms Karen Tan - Senior Director of Public Communication Division, Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore. During the informational session of the meeting, several affected States Parties were also on the teleconference. The States Parties on the teleconference were: France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. The Committee reviewed and deliberated on information on a range of aspects of MERS-CoV, which was prepared or coordinated by the Secretariat and States in response to questions presented by Members during the first meeting. It is the unanimous decision of the Committee that, with the information now available, and using a risk-assessment approach, the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not at present been met. The conferees called for improvements in surveillance, lab capacity, contact tracing and serological investigation; infection prevention and control and clinical management; travel-related guidance; risk communications; research studies (epidemiological, clinical and animal); and improved data collection and the need to ensure full and timely reporting of all confirmed and probable cases of MERS-CoV to WHO in accordance with the IHR (2005).