WHO Sets Up Emergency Committee on nCoV novel coronavirus

[sharon sanders]

hat tip Michael Coston

WHO Sets Up Emergency Committee On MERS-CoV

Coronavirus ? Credit CDC PHIL


# 7449

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Security and the Environment at theWorld Health Organization, held a press conference today where he announced the formation of an emergency committee to prepare for a possible escalation of the MERS-CoV threat.

This would seem to be part of a prudent and measured response rather than a reaction to any new or specific event. But it is an indication of how seriously WHO regards this threat.
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An audio of the announcement and press conference should be available later today (and I?ll post it here), but for now we have a brief announcement on the WHO web site, and a short report from Reuters.

WHO sets up emergency committee on MERS virus

GENEVA | Fri Jul 5, 2013 4:30pm IST (Reuters) -

(EXCERPT)
Fukuda said there was currently no emergency or pandemic but the experts would advise on how to tackle the disease if the number of cases suddenly grows.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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If more details emerge later today, I?ll update this post or add a new one.

Posted by Michael Coston at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://afludiary.blogspot.ca/2013/07/who-sets-up-emergency-committee-on-mers.html" rel="bookmark" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" title="2013-07-05T07:52:00-04:00">7:52 AM</abbr>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: WHO Sets Up Emergency Committee on nCoV novel coronavirus

Without any doubts the hyper mass-gathering events seen in some Middle East Countries recently (ie Egypt, but also in Near East or Mediterranean region, such as Turkey) makes the issue of social unrests in the context of emerging diseases or threats more impending and urgent to address.

These events may be predictive of further 'regimes changes' in key Gulf States and thus extremely sensitive from a public health perspective.

(GM)