UK hospital wing closed over suspected Mers cases, Europe News & Top Stories

Central Manchester University Hospitals Trust confirmed the emergency wing had been reopened after one of the patients was moved and said there was no significant risk to others at the hospital or to the general public.

They added that the emergency department of the hospital would be “closed until further notice while investigations take place”.

The last case in the UK was in February 2013 but an outbreak in South Korea this year has seen 3,000 people put in isolation and 2,200 schools closed.

A potent antibody that neutralises the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-Cov) has been discovered that could lead to a treatment for the virus, which has killed over 500 people since its discovery in 2012.

Publishing their finding in the journal PNAS, researchers said the antibody – LCA60 – binds to a unique site on the viral spike protein and appears to neutralise the infection of Mers-CoV by interfering with the binding to CD26 – the cellular receptor for the virus.

“There is presently no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission of Mers-CoV, and the risk of contracting infection in the UK remains very low”. One patient was then moved to North Manchester General. Approximately 36% of reported patients with Mers have died.

“The risk to UK residents travelling to Middle Eastern countries may be slightly higher than within the UK, but is still very low”.

“Both patients have been isolated for ongoing clinical treatment and management of their condition”.

Even if these two UK cases are confirmed to be MERS, the risks of there being an outbreak in Britain are small, according to health experts.

It is a coronavirus, similar to the virus that triggered China’s deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

“In the Middle East it has mostly been associated with the camel breeding industry with many cases in farm workers, and has also spread within Saudi hospitals. There is no vaccine at present”.