Saudi Arabia - Doctor at unknown hospital says 1 health care worker hospitalized and 1 health worker dead this week from nCoV coronavirus

[sharon sanders]

September 10, 2013

Saudi Arabia: A note from a MERS hospital

This morning I got a comment about my memo to the Minister of Health—not from the Minister, but from a doctor. It's an important document, and I'm giving it a post of its own:

I totally agree with this letter and recommendations. We need to disclose the current situation and find out a way to report the cases using clear screening guidelines or even to declare the need for international help.
I wonder why we do not involve people who faced SARS a decade ago to hear from their experience. Hajj is coming where 2-3 million Muslims will come to Saudi Arabia to gather in one place for few days! Then they will go back to their countries! What are the precautions that we took in action? (Not clear)
As a medical staff I feel embarrassed with the performance of Ministry of Health so far and I feel unsafe from acquiring the virus based on the current actions. I am writing this reply while one of our residents in ICU with MERS and one ER nurse declared dead in the same hospital this week.

In fairness to the Ministry, it invited Dr. Allison McGeer from Canada, who gained a great deal of experience with SARS, to be part of a three-person team advising the Ministry on MERS late in the spring. But I'm grateful that Dr. "X" is in touch, and I hope he'll write again; it's invaluable to have a sense of how healthcare workers are dealing with MERS in their own hospitals.

[sharon sanders]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Doctor at unknown hospital says 1 health care worker hospitalized and 1 health worker dead this week from nCoV coronavirus

The dead health care worker could be one of these cases:

#114 - Woman, 41, health care worker, Riyadh - Saudi Arabia Death

#119 - Age 56, health care worker from Medina, Saudi Arabia Death


Or maybe a new one?

[sharon sanders]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Doctor at unknown hospital says 1 health care worker hospitalized and 1 health worker dead this week from nCoV coronavirus

I am very afraid for this doctor who publicly posted this comment on Crof's blog here and Crof reposted as its own post.

Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship that does not tolerate dissent.

Please see:

Egyptian doctor loses job in Saudi Arabia for submitting letter to ProMED about new coronavirus NCoV

[Giuseppe]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Doctor at unknown hospital says 1 health care worker hospitalized and 1 health worker dead this week from nCoV coronavirus

This outbreak cannot be put under control until a clear picture of ground situation will be released by KSA authorities.

Nosocomial outbreaks are difficult to control even where high degree of readyness and preparedness are achieved from long time.

Strict isolation of infected patients, cohorting of suspected, probable and confirmed cases, quarantine for case's contacts are needed but without cooperation with all parties involved is very hard to be accepted by well scared people.

For this reason, detailed and earlier reports on situation are of Paramount importance because HCWs will be alerted and they will be able to implement all the infection control measures needed.

If the censorship is functioning the fear will Mount and the IPC measures will eventually fail to stop further spread into hospitals and communities.

GM