“fever pictures and flu symptoms”. Those were the words that the French medical staff used to explain the absence of three players, two of them regular starters, in the last game that the French team played against Morocco in the semifinals of the Soccer World Cup Qatar 2022.
“Temperatures have dropped. There is full air conditioning. There are feverish states. We all pay attention. With tense organisms and fatigue, the players’ immune defenses are weaker. It happened to Dayot right after the match against England, it’s no coincidence. We adapt to the situation without becoming paranoid,” France’s technical director Didier Deschamps explained yesterday at a press conference.
The French medical staff fears that the players have been infected with the mysterious MERS virus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) or as it is popularly known as “camel virus”. Although they do not rule out that it is the common flu virus or even the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
According to the newspaper Sport, in the privacy of the French team they fear that both Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano have contracted the “camel virus”. What’s more, these two players were joined by Kingsley Coman, who, if he was part of the team that faced the African team, did not enter the field of play.
First identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, the MERS or “camel flu” It is a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus. It is considered more dangerous than COVID. Health experts from around the world indicated that this flu is a respiratory infection caused by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus.
What is camel virus
“MERS is caused by a coronavirus, there were many cases in 2013 and after that it was half controlled, it didn’t bother anymore, but it continues. Yes, they originate from camels. I don’t think it’s to be scared, infectologists are always aware when there is a patient who travels, it is logical, one takes into account the infections of the place, the famous traveler’s medicine. But I don’t think it’s an issue that should cause concern,” the infectologist Lautaro de Vedia told Infobae.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) It is a viral respiratory disease caused by one of the coronaviruses (MERS-CoV), but it differs from the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is the cause of the COVID-19 infection. Both viruses differ in terms of the source of infection, the mode of transmission, and the severity of the disease.
MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, that is, it is transmitted from animals to people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is a virus that has been identified and linked to human infections in dromedaries, not camels, in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Studies have revealed that people become infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedaries.
In 2012, the MERS virus was first isolated from a 60-year-old Saudi Arabian patient presenting with acute pneumonia and severe renal failure. From 2012 to July 2017, 2,040 cases had been reported. It affected more men than women, with a mortality rate close to 35%.
what are the symptoms
Among the symptoms of “camel flu” or MERS-Cov are breathing difficulties, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough Y fever. Being that the disease can be acquired by close contact with camels. Person-to-person transmission is possible and has occurred predominantly among close contacts and in healthcare settings. “Outside of the healthcare setting, there has been limited person-to-person transmission,” the global health body added.
According to the United States Library of Medicine, the incubation period for this virus is not precisely known. This is the period of time between when a person is exposed to the virus and when they present symptoms. The incubation period average is approximately 5 days, but there are cases in which they occurred from 2 to 14 days after exposure. They do not have a specific treatment and the recovery, in case of being mild, is similar to when a flu virus is overcome.
According to the WHO, as of the end of February 2022, a total of 2,585 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) had been reported worldwide.
Of the total of these cases, there were 890 associated deaths (fatality ratio of 34.4%). Most of these cases were reported in Saudi Arabia (2184 cases), including 812 related deaths (RFC 37.2%).
Which is the treatment
Today there is no specific treatment for camel flu, nor a vaccine. The WHO has registration of the disease in 27 countries: Qatar, Republic of Korea, Islamic Republic of Iran, United Kingdom, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, China, Egypt, United Arab Emirates United States, the United States, the Philippines, France, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and Jordan.
“As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, stables or other places where dromedaries and other animals are kept should take general hygiene measures, such as washing hands frequently, before and after handling animals, and avoiding contact with sick animals”, they recommend from the WHO.
“The consumption of raw or undercooked animal products, including milk and meat, carries a high risk of infection by various pathogens that can cause disease in humans. Animal products that are properly processed by cooking or pasteurization are safe to eat, but they also need to be handled carefully to avoid cross-contamination with raw foods. Camel meat and milk are nutritious products that can continue to be consumed after pasteurization, cooking or other heat treatments.
going back to French squad, there is a detail that the French newspaper did not miss le parisien about a decision that the French delegation took for the first time since it arrived in Qatar: it imposed on the press the use of a mask at the end of the match during the traditional mixed zone. After the quarterfinals against England it also happened, but this time at the request of the British.
Aurélien Tchouaméni, one of the figures in the victory that gave the Frenchmen a ticket to the final, acknowledged that they pay “more attention” to small details.
“There is more hydroalcoholic gel on the tables,” he said. “We hope that everyone stays healthy in the next game, because it’s a final and we want to have all our forces present.”
Faced with this situation, the Australian Ministry of Health website published a notice saying that fans returning from Qatar should be aware of MERS and asking people to reduce the risk of contracting the infection by “observing good hygiene practices”. hygiene, avoiding close contact with camels and avoiding consuming raw meat or unpasteurized milk”.
And the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also asked doctors to look for people suffering from fever and breathing difficulties. “The risk of infection for UK residents is very low, but may be higher for those with exposure to specific risk factors within the region, such as camels,” the UKHSA reported.
