Qatar World Cup Fans At Risk of 'Camel Flu' Infection: Report

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• Nov 27, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The WHO recently recognised MERS as one of the viruses with the potential to create a pandemic in the future...

Digital Desk: Experts backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that the FIFA World Cup, which draws a large global population, may also attract various infections like coronavirus, monkeypox, and a deadlier member of the Covid group known as "camel flu" or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

In a study that was published in the journal New Microbes and New Infections, scientists found that even though football fans from all over the world are travelling to Qatar to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the large crowd "unavoidably poses possible infectious disease risks" for the players, the fans, the locals, as well as the countries of origin of the team.

The study also found that fans were at risk of contracting vector-borne diseases such as cutaneous leishmaniasis, malaria, dengue fever, rabies, measles, hepatitis A and B, and travellers' diarrhoea.

The WHO recently recognised MERS as one of the viruses with the potential to create a pandemic in the future.

Nearly 1.2 million people from around the world will travel to Qatar to attend the quadrennial football game, which is one of the biggest international events since the COVID-19 epidemic. This is to add to the Gulf nation's own population of 2.8 million.

According to the study, even though Qatar had prepared its health system for such an event, ongoing research on the spread of illnesses was important. "To mitigate the afore-mentioned risks, visitors to the tournament should be up to date with their routine vaccinations and observe the rules for safe consumption of food and drink," it said.

World Cup fans travelling to Qatar have also been advised to avoid touching camels, known to be the origin of the deadly infection.

MERS was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, which borders Qatar, and has already reported 2,600 cases with 935 related deaths in 27 other countries, according to an article in the UK-based science website IFLScience.

While most MERS infections are claimed to be asymptomatic or cause mild symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, and cough, serious infections can occur in people with comorbidities.