The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged all member-states, including Saudi Arabia and France, to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infection and examine those suffering from pneumonia and to carefully review any unusual patterns, the WHO said in a statement issued yesterday. “WHO is currently working with international experts and countries where coronavirus cases have been reported to assess the situation and review recommendations for surveillance and monitoring,” the statement said.

RIYADH — The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday it appeared likely that the novel coronavirus, which has killed 18 people in Saudi Arabia and Europe, could be passed from person to person.

Children's exposure to air traffic pollution could increase their risk of insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes in adults, suggests a study in Diabetologia. German research on 397 10-year-olds found that living close to a major road increased resistance by 7% per 500m. Air pollutants are known to be oxidisers that can impact on lipids and proteins in the blood. But some experts say the results should be treated with caution. The children in the study were invited for blood sampling at the age of 10, and glucose and insulin measurements were taken.

Conflicting reports are emerging from Al-Ahsa about the number of coronavirus infections in the region. The Al-Ahsa health department has said that there is only one confirmed case. However, the brother of a person infected with the virus said yesterday that in the hospital there are at least four persons in isolated rooms who are suspected of being infected. One of the physicians treating infected patients refused to reveal the number of confirmed cases. “We are not allowed to reveal any details in this regard.”

Flu during pregnancy may increase the risk of the unborn child developing bipolar disorder later in life, research suggests. A study of 814 expectant women, published in JAMA Psychiatry, showed that infection made bipolar four times more likely. The overall risk remained low, but it echoes similar findings linking flu and schizophrenia. Experts said the risks were small and women should not worry. Bipolar leads to intense mood swings, which can last months, ranging from depression and despair to manic feelings of joy, overactivity and loss of inhibitions. Researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center identified a link between the condition, often diagnosed during late teens and twenties, and experiences in the womb.

HOFUF — The primary cause for the coronavirus that spread in a private hospital in this Eastern Province city killing seven people and infecting six others in the past two weeks was a contaminated dialysis equipment, the local media reported on Wednesday. Quoting informed medical and health sources, Al-Watan newspaper said an investigation committee formed to determine the causes of the coronavirus noted that a number of workers in the hospital did not observe the international rules necessary for combating epidemics. The Ministry of Health on Sunday said it was in close contact with the World Health Organization (WHO) to find out more about the novel coronavirus.

Outbreaks of measles are putting Europe's commitment to eliminate the disease by 2015 under threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. Levels of vaccination have been too low in some countries, particularly in rich western European nations. It says catch-up vaccination campaigns, such as the one launched in the UK, are needed across the continent. Experts said it was not too late to hit the target, but "extraordinary" effort was needed. It is theoretically possible to eradicate measles from the planet in the same way smallpox was defeated in 1980. The 53 nations which form the WHO's European region, from Portugal to Uzbekistan, have pledged to stop the disease spreading on the continent.

RIYADH — Two more Saudis have succumbed to a new SARS-like virus, taking the number of deaths from the coronavirus in the Kingdom to seven in one week, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday. By Monday morning, 13 cases were registered. Six of the survivors are undergoing treatment. The ministry is relying on latest reliable information, conducting needed tests, and is forming appropriate committees of experts to tackle the issue, said Deputy Minister of Health for Health Affairs Dr. Mansur Al-Hawwasi at a press conference attended by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Public Health Dr. Ziad Mimish and a number of members of the National Committee for Communicable Diseases and the National Committee of Infection Control in the Kingdom. All the cases were found in Saudis, and no expat has been admitted so far with coronavirus infection, said Dr. Mimish.

Some patients with severely damaged livers may not need a transplant as their own organ is actually regrowing, say doctors at a hospital in London. They made the discovery by looking at a rare group of patients given a transplant while their own damaged liver is left in the body. Sometimes the original liver recovers. A study, in the American Journal of Transplantation, suggests doctors can predict which patients do not need a transplant as their liver is healing. King's College Hospital has a leading liver transplant centre and is one of few places to perform "auxiliary transplants". They are performed in sudden cases of liver failure caused by overdoses or viral infections, rather than the long-term damage caused by alcohol abuse.

RIYADH – The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that it was in close contact with World Health Organization (WHO) to find out more about the new type of the coronavirus that seems to have affected some people in Al-Ahsa province. “Though it belongs to the same family of coronaviruses causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), there is not much known about this new type of virus. So we are working closely with WHO to know more about it,” the ministry said.