Can a New [bioinformatic] Tool Help Contain the Deadly MERS Virus?
See on Scoop.it – Virology and Bioinformatics from Virology.ca
Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world embark on the Hajj, a spiritual rite through the dusty granite hills of Mecca in Saudi Arabia that forms one of Islam’s five pillars of faith. This year, the fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) looms over the pilgrimage, which will take place in mid-October, leaving public health officials worried they may see another pandemic, as foreign pilgrims now account for more than half of Hajj participants and could bring the virus back home.
A few cases of this fatal disease — which has so far killed about half of those infected — have already emerged in Europe but it has not yet made its way to North America. Health officials in the U.S. are trying to keep that number to zero with the help of a new digital disease tracking tool called BioMosaic.
See on techpresident.com
