Due to high risk of MERS and cholera transmission from Saudi Arabia and Iraq respectively, a special committee for prevention of the diseases has been established at the Health Ministry, said Ali Akbar Sayyari, deputy minister of health. “As a large number of Iranian pilgrims visit the affected countries, we must be prepared to deal with the risks of the diseases,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
All medical university hospitals are ready to treat cholera patients. “Every flight from Saudi Arabia arriving in Iran has a health expert to assess the condition of passengers and segregate suspicious cases.” The spurt in new MERS cases came a few weeks before the starting of the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on September 22. On Saturday, the Saudi Health Ministry announced six new MERS cases with three in capital Riyadh.
Iraq’s Health Ministry said the number of cholera cases has exceeded 160. The decrepit and unsanitary water system had caused the waterborne disease to spread to Iraq’s southern provinces along the Euphrates River.
