A 40-year-old Qatar expat who works with camels has become the second person in the country this year to be diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

According to the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), the man has no pre-existing health issues and is in stable condition at a state hospital isolation ward, as per national protocol.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness, and can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include fever, coughing, a sore throat and in some cases, diarrhea.

In February, A 66-year-old Qatari man who was the country’s first MERS case in a year died from complications related to the illness.

He had been admitted into the hospital with fever and cough after returning from a “neighboring country,” according to MOPH.

But in this more recent case, the camel worker had not traveled abroad in the past two weeks and had not been in contact with anyone suspected of having MERS.

Efforts are being made to find out more about how MERS is transmitted, but for now residents with chronic diseases are advised to avoid close contact with camels.

The ministry also recommended boiling fresh camel milk before drinking it.

Anyone with MERS-related concerns or questions can call hotline numbers 66740948 or 66740951.

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