The Qatar World Cup 2022 It is the most expensive in history and it is being held, for the first time, in an emirate with rigid laws associated with Islam, and not only could it be a football festival, there is also the possibility that it is the scene for a virus to break out with more lethal than the coronavirus: the camel virus.
The virus is known as MERS-CoV and emerged in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, a country very close to Qatar. Researchers of the disease assume that it was transmitted by bats who would have passed it to camels in the desert of the Arabian peninsula.
The disease has already affected several players of the French National Team, ahead of the grand final against Argentina: Kingsley Coman, Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot.
How is the camel virus that could complicate the World Cup in Qatar 2022
On March 28, a patient was admitted to the hospital in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to receive the necessary medical care in accordance with the national protocol. to treat confirmed or suspected cases of the disease.
The patient was in direct contact with camels.
At the time it was detected that it was the first case of MERS, registered by the authorities, in Qatar. It is a viral respiratory disease caused by one of the coronaviruses (MERS-CoV), but it differs from the new Coronavirus known as (COVID19).
Both viruses differ in terms of the source of infection, the mode of transmission, and the severity of the disease.
Protective measures to avoid catching the camel virus
Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health especially warned people with chronic illnesses or with immunodeficiency disorders, so that they adhere to public hygiene measures. AND
This includes regular hand washing with soap and wateruse hand sanitizers, as well as avoid close contact with camels and see a doctor when experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath.
Humans can catch this virus and, despite its appearance years ago, there is no vaccine or treatment. Most of the people who have been infected were from the Middle East, although there have also been cases in recent years in Europe, Asia or Africa. All of them, yes, were from people who had visited that region before.
Some camels, animals that can transmit MERS-CoV, a virus more lethal than Covid-19, participate in an event in Doha (Qatar). (Photo: Markus Gilliar/Getty Images).
Due to this disease, some countries are recommending that those who go to the World Cup not do the typical camel or dromedary rides in Qatarsomething very common.
“Fans should stay away from the camels in Qatar. That is the common sense advice to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. It is a nasty virus, much more lethal than Covid-19, with a very high mortality rate and there is currently no effective vaccine,” Paul Hunter, a professor at the University of East Anglia, told the British newspaper. ‘The Sun’.
What the World Health Organization says about camel virus
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of the end of February 2022, a total of 2,585 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) had been reported worldwide.
Of the total of these cases, there were 890 associated deaths (fatality ratio of 34.4%).. Most of these cases were reported in Saudi Arabia (2184 cases), including 812 related deaths (RFC 37.2%).