Sajila Saseendran / 16 May 2014
Prepared in a question and answer format, the poster explains the relationship between camels and the coronavirus that causes Mers.
The UAE on Thursday announced preventive measures against Mers-CoV recommended for camel breeders and others dealing with camels through tweets sent out by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW).
The tweets from the ministry’s twitter handle @MoEWUAE gave out details printed a bilingual poster, apparently prepared to be distributed among camel handlers and others.
Prepared in a question and answer format, the poster explains the relationship between camels and the coronavirus that causes the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and lists out preventive measures.
“Recent studies have found that coronavirus strains in some of the camel samples genetically match the strain that causes the disease in humans. However, until now, there’s no evidence that coronavirus can be transmitted from camels to humans. More research is required to identify how humans are infected and identify sources of infection,” the ministry said.
Tweeting the image of the poster, the ministry also detailed the preventive measures recommended for camel breeders and those in contact with them.
Preventive measures recommended for camel breeders included the following:
* Buying animals from reliable sources and avoiding adding sick animals to the herd; isolating animals that appear to be sick from healthy ones and calling the vet immediately to take necessary measures.
* Eating well-cooked meats, washing hands thoroughly after touching animals, avoiding drinking unpasteurised or unboiled milk, wearing protective clothing and gloves when dealing with camels or suspected animals and slaughtering animals at the abattoir under supervision, are also among the recommendations.
* Additional preventive measures recommended when dealing with camels included avoiding contact with camels if you have a weak immune system or suffer from chronic diseases and avoiding the habit of kissing camels especially camels that are less than one year old.
* Wearing protective clothes, gloves and masks when directly contacting camels that show respiratory signs or nasal discharges was also highlighted.
“Animal products that are well prepared through cooking or pasteurisation are safe to consume,” the ministry reaffirmed in another tweet.
This is the first official announcement from the MoEW on precautionary measures for camel handlers and others coming in contact with the animal. Though the ministry last week announced strict Mers screening for camel shipment from the GCC, there was nothing specifically addressing the handlers of an estimated over 2,50,000 camels in the country.
On May 1, a Khaleej Times report had highlighted that no awareness drive had been launched to educate camel handlers in the UAE. The next day, the newspaper also reported about the need for spreading awareness among tourists who go for camel riding as many of them touch and kiss the camels. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/inside.asp?xfile=/data/nationhealth/2014/May/nationhealth_May27.xml§ion=nationhealth
