Almost all camels in the Gulf are infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a Saudi Health Ministry official has been reported as saying.
The fatal virus, which already has infected more than 1000 and killed at least 376 patients, is believed to have spread from camels to humans.
The high rate of camel infection – 90 percent, according to Saudi Arabia’s undersecretary for preventative health Abdullah Asiri – raises a serious issue for the Gulf, where camels are a deep part of daily life for many locals.
Asiri said exterminating the animals was not an acceptable solution and instead research on a vaccine needed to be accelerated, Arab News reported.
The World Health Organization warned earlier this month there would be more incidents of MERS infections among humans and it was likely to spread within households – person to person – unless more was done to prevent and control the virus.
It blamed lax controls at Saudi hospitals for a major outbreak last year.
On Monday, a Riyadh hospital was shut down for failing to follow guidelines relating to MERS.
Meanwhile, rapid intervention teams have been stationed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to immediately handle suspected MERS cases. The airport is the gateway to Islam’s holiest cities, Makkah and Medinah.
The number of MERS cases in Saudi Arabia has increased this month, with at least six reported deaths.
The virus was first detected in the kingdom in September, 2012.
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