(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Â The deadly coronavirus should be destroyed in the coming weeks with the onset of summer, said an expert.
During a meeting held in Dubai last week, Global and Arab Hygiene Council Chairman Professor John Oxford said the virus could be killed by following simple steps such as hand-washing. Experts asked the public to take precautions against infection by stepping up personal hygiene levels, such as washing hands with warm, soapy water for at least 60 seconds. "Studies have shown that organisms can stay on hands for up to three hours," Oxford said.
"Proactive hand hygiene can prevent infections by up to 50 per cent and especially if hands are washed thoroughly for 40 to 60 seconds," said the expert, who is also a professor of virology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary College.
The onset of summer would destroy the virus naturally in the coming days, he said. "This virus has less punch than the one that spread in 2005 and it is less likely to spread in summer."
The coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has caused 20 deaths since having emerged in Saudi Arabia in September 2012. A total of 41 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). An Emirati died due to the disease earlier this year while a French man is ill after having visited Dubai in April.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia reported the emergence of another case of the disease, which medical journals now call 'the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), in an 81-year-old woman who is said to be critical. There are no specific treatments for illnesses caused by the novel coronavirus.
WHO's regional head Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Director of Communicable Diseases, told Khaleej Times last week that the virus could spread between humans but only through close contact.
He also said it was essential that healthcare workers took all necessary measures to protect themselves and look out for possible symptoms in patients. "If physicians see unexplained pneumonia, fever and breathing problems in patients, they should investigate immediately."
Dr Oxford stressed that in the present scenario, healthcare workers should take extra precautions. "For those using the waterless hand rub, 30 to 40 seconds of rubbing can stop infections," he explained.
Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia's Faculty of Medicine Dr Tariq Madani said the high number of cases in the country could be due to a strong surveillance system. "We know that we can destroy the virus and should work for tracing the source of the virus," he said.
"Most people who got infected with the novel coronavirus developed severe acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and breathing difficulty," said Dr Idrees, general practitioner from Al Tadawi Medical Centre in Dubai.
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