"Deadlier virus than Covid-19": Expert warns football fans in Qatar against "close contact with dromedaries"
Created: 04/11/2022, 09:15
By: Patrick Huljina
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been criticized.
Fans who still travel to the desert state should note the information about a dangerous virus.
Munich/Doha – The 2022 World Cup will start in Qatar in around two and a half weeks.
The hosts open the tournament against Ecuador on November 20th.
The anticipation of the major event in the desert state has so far been limited among many football fans - to put it somewhat positively.
In addition to the already many negative headlines about the Winter World Cup, there are now reports of a virus in Qatar that, according to a British expert, is “more deadly than Covid-19”.
MERS-CoV danger in the Arabian Peninsula: camels play a role in infections
This is the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the infectious disease was first detected in patients on the Arabian Peninsula in 2012 - that's also where the World Cup host country Qatar is located.
Since then, the virus has triggered isolated cases of severe respiratory diseases in the region.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far reported more than 2,400 laboratory-confirmed cases, mainly from Qatar's neighboring country Saudi Arabia - including more than 800 deaths.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, the biology of the MERS-CoV coronavirus has not been finally clarified.
"A close contact with dromedaries, ie directly or via z.
B. the consumption of insufficiently heated animal products, seems to play a role in transmission,” writes the federal authority in its leaflet on the virus.
The RKI also explains that many infected people had contact with the one-humped camels, but not all cases can be attributed to it.
Football fans in Qatar should avoid camels: Expert warns of "deadlier virus than Covid-19"
Camels are a tourist attraction in many desert states, including Qatar.
According to experts, however, football fans should avoid camel riding and the like during the World Cup.
The WHO advises travelers to the Arabian Peninsula to avoid contact with dromedaries and also to refrain from visiting farms and markets where the animals are.
However, there are no official travel restrictions or warnings regarding MERS-CoV from the WHO or the Federal Foreign Office.
British professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia in Norwich warned English and Welsh football fans who want to travel to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
"Fans should stay away from camels in Qatar," he told
the
Sun.
This is what “common sense” dictates in order to keep the risk of infection low.
"It's a nasty virus, much more deadly than Covid-19, with a very high mortality rate and there is currently no effective vaccine," Hunter said.
Camel drivers ride their dromedaries past a poster with the former Emir of Qatar and the World Cup trophy.
(Archive image) © IMAGO / Ulmer
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Information on the course of a MERS-CoV infection:
“The incubation period is usually one to two weeks.
In healthy people, the disease is usually asymptomatic or with mild flu-like symptoms.
In severe cases, pneumonia
(pneumonia, editor's note)
can develop, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
A common accompanying symptom is diarrhea;
kidney failure may also occur.
Severe courses occur mainly in people with chronic pre-existing conditions, such as
E.g. diabetes, heart disease, chronic kidney or lung disease.”
(Source: RKI, as of November 3, 2022)
MERS-CoV transmission: No evidence of uncontrolled spread
According to the RKI, transmission from person to person is rare with MERS-CoV, but also possible.
"Several outbreaks, some of them large, have already occurred in hospitals," the institute said on its website.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, infected people in the known cases had very close contact with sick people.
So far, however, there is no evidence of sustained, uncontrolled human-to-human transmission.
"Imported cases of illness are, however, possible at any time and, if not recognized in time, could lead to further infections in the hospital," warns the RKI.
A total of three MERS cases have been recorded in Germany since 2012.
Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar: hosts in the criticism
Despite the great criticism of the Winter World Cup in view of the human rights situation in Qatar, the limited alcohol consumption for fans and other strict party rules, numerous football fans from all over the world will travel to the desert state in the coming weeks.
Some of them even get one for free from Qatar
World Cup Travel Package – with one condition.
The German national team will start the tournament on November 23 with the game against Japan.
On November 10th, Hansi Flick will announce his final World Cup squad.
The national coach recently picked up a basket from a player who has long since retired.
Flick, on the other hand, completely dispenses with a Bundesliga star in strong form.
(ph)
