FIFA World Cup 2022 fans at risk of contracting camel flu. 13 points about the virus

A woman looks at her photo while riding a camel in Mesaieed, Qatar on November 26. Experts have advised regular hand washing before and after touching camels and avoiding contact with sick animals.

Amid the "football fever" that has gripped fans across the world, World Health Organization-backed experts fear that 'camel flu' too may infect those in Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Considered to be a deadlier cousin of Covid, camel flu also known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has affected dozens in Qatar over the past decade. The virus kills up to a third of everyone who gets infected.

Camel flu has also been listed as one of eight potential 'infection risks', including Covid and monkeypox, which could crop up during the four-week long World Cup.

Writing in the journal New Microbes and New Infections, an academic trio said the World Cup 'unavoidably poses infectious disease risks'.

Professor Patricia Schlagenhauf, an epidemiologist from the WHO's Collaborating Centre for Travellers' Health, and team said this applied to Qatar and neighbouring countries. The camel flu could also be exported to other countries because of the sheer amount of fans who've travelled to Qatar to watch the tournament, the experts suggested.

Here's what the WHO has to say about the disease:

1.) MERS is a virus transferred to humans from infected dromedary camels.

2.) It is a zoonotic virus, meaning it is transmitted between animals and people, and it is contractable through direct or indirect contact with infected animals.

3.) Camel flu has been identified in dromedaries in several countries in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

4.) In total, 27 countries have reported cases since 2012, leading to 858 known deaths due to the infection and related complications.

5.) The origins of the virus are not fully understood but according to the analysis of different virus genomes it is believed that it may have originated in bats and later transmitted to camels at some point in the distant past.

6.) Human-to-human transmission is possible, but only a few such transmissions have been found among family members living in the same household.

7.) In health care settings, however, human-to-human transmission appears to be more frequent.

8.) Infections range from showing no symptoms (asymptomatic) or mild respiratory symptoms to severe acute respiratory disease and death.

9.)  Symptoms of camel flu include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is a common finding, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported.

10.) Severe illness can cause respiratory failure that requires mechanical ventilation and support in an intensive care unit.

11.) The virus appears to cause more severe disease in older people, people with weakened immune systems and those with chronic diseases such as renal disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes.

12.) Who advised people with diabetes, renal failure, chronic lung disease, and immunocompromised persons -- who are considered at high risk of severe disease from MERS infection -- to avoid contact with camels, drinking raw camel milk or camel urine, or eating meat that has not been properly cooked.

13.) No vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, although vaccines and treatments are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.