A regional workshop on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) kicked off Monday in Doha under the joint organization of the Ministry of Environment, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The three-day workshop, held at Doha Marriott Hotel, the outbreak of Coronavirus, updates on human infections with MERS-CoV as well as the virus in animals, and overview of FAO activities on MERS-CoV.

One of the sessions of the workshop discusses "One Health" practices in relation to MERS-CoV and the current situation in the region. Another session touches on large-scale sero and virological screening for MERS-CoV in Africa and central Asia in camels.

The workshop will also discuss the virus in the Horn of Africa and current knowledge and perspectives on future activities in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, HE Sheikh Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad Al-Thani, head of public health at SCH, said several aspects make the meeting a unique event. "First, it managed to bring all concerned veterinary, health, and agriculture organizations and renowned professionals together in one place for the first time since the emergence of the novel virus in 2012, allowing for high level of knowledge exchange to advance the collective understanding of the virus and its implied challenges posed on public health." "Second, it comes after extensive consultations and meetings at different levels in the context of animal-human interface. Despite each of these meetings managed to cast light on one of the view angles of the killing disease, this meeting recognizes the need to integrate efforts of the involved health and veterinary institutions through presenting the latest research findings on the potential role of animals in the epidemiological cycle of MERS-CoV," HE Sheikh Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad added.

HE Sheikh Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad noted that the workshop is taking place in Qatar at the core of the region affected by the disease. "On one hand, this has brought the event within reach to many of the interested local and regional public health and academic institutions, thus making their contribution to the learning process possible," he said, adding that on the other hand "it has offered an exceptional opportunity for the guest experts from outside the region to mix up with the experts from within the region and yet get exposed to the social, cultural, and anthropological context, as this will have its definite impact on their overall conception of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus." Highlighting the significance of the meeting, he said the general population of Arab communities across the Arab Peninsula has high expectations of the workshop in order to find the right answers in relation to the mechanism of the virus transmission.

"Despite the overwhelming uncertainty characterized the first days of the disease, we were fairly confident that the collaborative approach that we have embedded together with our partners in the animal health department will yield reliable results towards uncovering the disease epidemiological mysteries via teamwork spirit and integration of efforts," HE Sheikh Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad said.

The Qatari official added that cooperation between SCH and the Ministry of Environment has succeeded in achieving a "recognizable scientific breakthrough with a genuine support from WHO and Erasmus Institute of Public Health in Netherlands." "Grateful to them, we have isolated the virus from camels, but more importantly, we have reemphasized our faith in 'One Health.' It is good that 'One Health' is praised as a theme to this remarkable technical workshop," he added, noting that the expertise integrated in the meeting gives a strong feeling that it will be a scientific turning point in the understanding of MERS-CoV.

For his part, HE Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser Al-Thani, assistant undersecretary for agricultural affairs and fisheries at the Ministry of Environment, said that combating common diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans is a priority for the Ministry of Environment due to the outbreak of new diseases in the recent years, 70 percent of which are common, which poses a challenge to the world that needs to be addressed.

In his speech, delivered on his behalf by Mohamed Said Al Shuqairi Al Mohannadi, head of the fisheries department at the Ministry of Environment, HE Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser said the outbreak of Coronavirus in the recent years and its association with camels had a significant role in uniting efforts between he Ministry of Environment and SCH to develop a joint system of cooperation against the disease and extend the umbrella of cooperation to include other common diseases.

The workshop aims to present the latest research findings on the disease and the current knowledge in affected countries on the potential role of animal species in the epidemiological cycle of MERS. It also analyzes the recent developments in diagnostic and surveillance tools to support animal investigations.
In addition, the event aims to identify the concrete steps and roadmap for coordinated actions at the sub-regional level with a view to halting the spread of the disease.

Another objective is discussing an agreeing on mechanisms for intra-regional and global cooperation in investigations, research and knowledge sharing and the role of international and regional organizations.