travellers should consult their doctor beforedeciding to travel to or from Middle Eastern countries where the new MERS coronavirus has been spreading, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday in Geneva, dpa reported. At the same time, a WHO emergency committee of experts said that the new illness does not currently constitute a "public health emergency of international concern," a designation for major pandemics. So far, new infections of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been occurring at a steady low rate of around 20 a month, leading to 82 known cases and at least 45 deaths since September. "(An emergency) declaration and event have to be proportional to each other," WHO assistant director general Keiji Fukuda told reporters. -- SPA 22:27 LOCAL TIME 19:27 GMT تغريد
