Deadly MERS Outbreak in South Korea: Should India be Worried?

1000 Indians who fly from India to Seoul every month have a high risk of getting infected by the deadly MERS virus

A virus with no known treatment or cure is spreading in a foreign country. The World Health Organisation has called it a “threat to the entire world”.

Sounds familiar?

While Ebola dominated headlines last year, MERS which hit South Korea three weeks back has put global health authorities on alert. The virus has killed 9 people, infected 87 and even spread to China.

Though these numbers aren’t high, what’s worrying is that till now MERS has only hung around in Saudi Arabia and nearing desert countries. A leap from Saudi to South Korea, has triggered the largest-ever outbreak outside the Middle East.

What is MERS?

What makes MERS deadlier than H1N1 and SARS is that hardly anything is known about this virus. MERS or the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome first emerged in 2012 during the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Till now, it has killed nearly half of the people it affects. But why has the current outbreak in South Korea seen a low mortality rate is again not known.

There is no vaccine or cure for it. Close contact with an infected person does spread the disease but how exactly it gets transmitted is not known. And the fact that it can cause death by a respiratory infection and multi-organ failure, like SARS has health officials on guard.

The symptoms are fever, cough, chills, sore throat, and muscle pain. Within the first week, the disease can quickly develop into pneumonia, requiring ventilation and organ support.

Should India Be Worried?

Yes.

1000 Indians travel between South Korea and India every month making them potential carriers of this deadly disease. Bad news: A person infected with MERS might take a week to show the symptoms but transmit the disease in that period.

The WHO has asked countries to be on high alert and ensure better surveillance to curb the spread of MERS outside of South Korea.

“It is really important that the global health community is alert on this, in particular, at a time when there are a lot of travellers coming in and out of the affected countries. The disease spread from a Korean man who travelled to several Middle Eastern countries and back to Seoul. The Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia can expose millions to the infection.”
– Dr Peter Ben Embarek, Scientist, World Health Organization

The fact that it is spreading outside a desert country means that it could have mutated to survive in other climatic conditions.

A question mark hangs over how the virus spreads, scientists haven’t ruled out the possibility of an airborne transmission. In this scenario, shouldn’t India start passive surveillance at the Delhi and Mumbai airports like Hong Kong and Beijing?

Can India afford to sit back and act complacent given that just 6 months back we have battled the worst H1N1 outbreak in 5 years which killed over 1200 people?