Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Experts list 'camel flu' among eight disease threat during the World Cup in Qatar

Also known as MERS, Camel Flu is caused by a coronavirus.

Experts list 'camel flu' among eight disease threat during the World Cup in Qatar

Around 5,000 fans from England and Wales are believed to be travelling to Qatar to attend the group stages of the FIFA World Cup – but this is just a fraction of the 1.2 million supporters who are expected to visit Qatar for the celebrated event.

Thus, there is apprehension and fear that it’s not just 'football fever' that will spread during this tournament – experts backed by World Health Organization are afraid 'camel flu' also known as MERS which is a deadlier cousin of Covid may spread too.


In fact, the experts have listed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) which is a rare but severe respiratory disease as one of the eight potential disease threats ‘infection risks’ which could crop up at the four-week-long Qatar tournament. MERS is caused by a coronavirus.

The other diseases are reportedly Covid, monkeypox, vector-borne diseases (for example malaria, dengue, rabies), measles, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and travellers' diarrhoea, the Daily Mail reports.

However, disease experts list Covid and monkeypox as the two most likely infection threats.

Writing in the journal called New Microbes and New Infections, researchers reportedly said that the World Cup 'unavoidably poses infectious disease risks.'

This applies to Qatar and its neighbouring countries said Professor Patricia Schlagenhauf, an epidemiologist from the WHO's Collaborating Centre for Travellers' Health.

Over the past decade, dozens of people have fallen ill with MERS in Qatar. Besides, Qatar borders the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where MERS was first reported 10 years ago.

There is no specific treatment for this illness and it supposedly kills up to a third of those who get infected.

Doctors only try to ease a patient's symptoms. Thus, as a result, approximately 35% of those who contract MERS do not survive.

The UK has only recorded five cases of MERS so far, most recently in a traveller from the Middle East in 2018.

According to health experts, human-to-human transmission is possible, however, camels are believed to be the natural host of the deadly virus, which is from the same family as the Covid virus, responsible for the Covid pandemic.

Due to this, health chiefs advise all travellers to the region to avoid touching camels. Travellers are also warned not to drink camel milk or urine or eat the meat of camels. If at all they do intend to eat the meat – they should ensure that it is cooked well.

Additionally, those returning to the UK with camel flu symptoms which are the same as a cold or flu are instructed to seek health advice and share their travel history to control any infection so that testing can be carried out.

More For You

Three killed, dozens injured in India temple stampede

Police officials visit the site after a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple, in Puri, Odisha, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (PTI Photo)

Three killed, dozens injured in India temple stampede

AT LEAST three people, including two women, died and around 50 others were injured in a stampede near the Shree Gundicha Temple in Puri, Odisha, Indian, on Sunday (29) morning, according to local officials.

The incident occurred around 4am (local time) as hundreds of devotees gathered to witness the Rath Yatra (chariot festival), Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain confirmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

Prime minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at The British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London on June 26, 2025. (Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to warn that Britain could become an "island of strangers" due to high immigration, saying he "deeply" regrets the controversial phrase.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said he would not have used those words if he had known they would be seen as echoing the language of Enoch Powell's notorious 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less