“Don’t Forget the Migrants”: Exploring Preparedness and Response Strategies to Combat the Potential Spread of MERS-Co V Virus through Migrant Workers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The incidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) detected in the Middle East countries poses serious health risks to labour sending countries such as Sri Lanka. The disease is prevalent in the Gulf States with predominance in Saudi Arabia, where the majority of Sri Lankan migrants reside and work. Urgent surveillance and prevention strategies need to be taken to prevent the entry of this disease into the country, and the paper discusses such strategies and discusses the probable risks that the disease could pose. The necessity of forging partnerships between public health authorities and labour migration networks to establish policy mechanisms to ensure effective preparedness and response planning is also stressed. The strategies described could also be extended to other labour sending countries to the Gulf.