JAMBI
Two Indonesian pilgrims who recently returned from Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, have reportedly contracted the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus, or MERS.
Disease Control and Environmental Health Office head Kaswendi - who like many Indonesians uses only one name – said the married couple from western Jambi province exhibited symptoms such as severe cough and high fever similar to those experienced by MERS patients, local media reported Thursday.
The couple is currently receiving treatment at an isolated care facility of the Raden Mattahir General Hospital in Jambi.
Neli Wirlis, who heads the facility, said, "They [the couple] are in the care of [quarantine] for further evaluation."
He added that the hospital was waiting for results from further laboratory tests, according to the Jakarta Post.
It has not been confirmed whether the patients have indeed been infected with MERS, the Post cited Dr. Dewi Juli Arta, an official from Jambi’s Hajj Port Health Office, as saying.
Mahbub Dariyanto, head of Jambi’s religious ministry, said all issues related to Hajj are the government’s responsibility, including the health condition of nationals leaving and returning to the country.
Also called coronavirus, MERS is a viral respiratory illness, the symptoms of which include a fever, cough or shortness of breath. It can cause pneumonia and kidney failure.
In mid-September, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota said there had been 302 MERS deaths out of 732 cases - a fatality rate of more than 40 percent.
No cure currently exists for the virus.
The vast majority of cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arabian peninsula, with a smaller number around the world thought to have been spread by visitors to the region.
Like other infectious diseases, MERS spreads quickly in crowded spaces.
In early October, Saudi Arabia had taken precautionary measures to prevent an outbreak during the Hajj pilgrimage.
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