Monday, Jul 27th 2015
2PM
30°C
5PM
30°C
5-Day Forecast
Manchester Royal Infirmary (A & E) closed after an outbreak of deadly breathing illness MERS
- Hospital shut following an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome
- Two patients have been isolated and it is unclear when hospital will reopen
- Symptoms of the disease include a fever, cough and breathing difficulties
A
major hospital last night closed its A&E unit after two patients
were admitted with suspected cases of the deadly Mers virus.
Outbreaks of the Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus Syndrome have killed hundreds of people in South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
The Sars-like virus causes fever, coughing and a shortness of breath, and is fatal in more than a third of cases.
Two patients have been isolated with
the breathing illness and it is unclear when the A&E department will
reopen (pictured, medical staff wearing masks seen leaving the A&E
department)
Manchester
Royal Infirmary closed its emergency department last night while it
rushed the two patients into the hospital’s isolation ward.
If confirmed, the cases would be the first in Britain since February 2013.
Both
patients are understood to have turned up at the hospital suffering
from general fever, coughs and severe breathing difficulties.
Experts
last night insisted that there is no significant risk to the public
because, despite its severity, the virus does not spread easily from
human to human.
Dr
Rosemary McCann of Public Health England, said: ‘There is presently no
evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission of MERS-CoV, and the
risk of contracting infection in the UK remains very low.’
An outbreak of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome has forced Manchester Royal Infirmary (pictured) to shut
The two patients are thought to have arrived at the hospital together.
After
being examined by triage nurses they were treated by emergency doctors
who identified the symptoms and called in senior medical bosses, who
decided to close down the A&E department.
Samples from both patients have been sent for urgent analysis to establish whether or not they are suffering from Mers.
A
hospital source said: ‘Apparently both patients turned up at A&E
exhibiting the same symptoms, symptoms that can often be mistaken for
flu.
‘However
medical staff were on the alert as we believe they had both recently
entered the country from an area known to have been affected by Mers.
‘It
is to the credit of the medical staff on duty that they quickly
recognised the symptoms and alerted senior management staff who took an
immediate decision to close the A&E department. The hospital trust
has recognised protocols when dealing with these cases and it appears
they were followed quickly and promptly.’
The
Manchester Royal Infirmary is one of the busiest hospitals in the
Greater Manchester area and situated in an area with a large
multi-national ethnic community.
Mers
has no known cure and can quickly develop into severe pneumonia and
multiple organ failure which can eventually prove fatal.
