Acting on an advisory from Saudi Arabian government to ensure that all patients coming in from the region are tested for the symptoms of the Middle East Corona virus (MERS-CoV), the Karnataka government has set up medical surveillance teams at the Bengaluru International Airport and also at the Mangalore International Airport. Those suspected and affected with MERS-CoV need immediate medical attention as the dreaded virus is known to be fatal.  The symptoms are largely similar to H1N1 virus.

The state department of Health and Family Welfare has now sprung into action to carry out a diagnostic test to ascertain the presence of MERS-CoV a virus which is rare in India. In this regard, the government has assigned the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGID) and SDS Tuberculosis Research Centre and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) as centres for care and diagnosis respectively.  After the first round of medical examination conducted on passengers from the Middle East at both Bengaluru and Mangalore airports, the suspected carriers of the virus are sent to the RGID for the throat swabs which are then tested at NIMHANS.

MERS-CoV is a viral respiratory infection known to have originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The primary symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. Medical experts advise early diagnosis, so that the required treatment can be administered to control the condition and prevent fatality.

“We have now alerted the airports because these are the two points where passengers come in from the Middle East. The advisory follows after scores of patients coming into these two cities in the state having been diagnosed with MERS CoV which has reported 63 deaths globally”, said Karnataka health and family welfare secretary UT Khader.

After finding a patient fallen ill at the Bengaluru airport, health personnel directed the patient to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Chest Diseases. Now this patient is affected with MERS-CoV and needed immediate medical attention, according to Geetha Nyama Goudar, director, Karnataka department of health and family welfare.

Dr. Shashidhar Buggi, director, Rajiv Gandhi University of Chest Diseases and SDS Tuberculosis Research Centre said that the facility was well equipped to conduct the tests. However this condition was reported only among passengers coming in from the Gulf.

NIMHANS pathology teams stated that MERS was a very rare condition and not more than ten cases in the country have been suspected of the virus so far. The condition was prevalent in the Middle East countries. However an extra caution was needed to be taken.

The World Health Organisation in mid-October 2013 confirmed that 149 people have been affected by MERS worldwide, of which 63 succumbed to the condition.