Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is rearing its head again in Saudi Arabia but somehow health officials and scientists can do little more than scratch their heads when trying to explain where it comes from. The problem is the most likely cause is almost as easying as adding two plus two and getting four. According to Reuters:

The UN group – a international delegation of scientists and public health experts from World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Organization for Animal Health – visited Saudi Arabia last week to investigate a sharp rise in MERS cases.

All the experts are there, right? The best and the brightest in the business was at ground zero for MERS. In order to stop this deadly virus, the origins of it have to be discovered, right?

Saudi Arabia has not done enough to investigate and control a deadly new MERS virus that has killed hundreds of people there and remains in many ways a mystery, United Nations health experts said on Monday.

Cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are surging again, but Saudi health officials and scientists appear unable to explain where the infections start and how they spread, the UN experts said.

Much of this head-scratching should be unnecessary because the most obvious explanation for the source of the virus has already been determined:

Initial scientific studies have linked MERS to camels, but disease experts say it is not at all clear how the infection passes from the animals. Many people infected in the community and in hospitals report no contact with camels, they note.

“There are so many aspects of the virus that are still unknown,” said Berhe Tekola, director of the FAO’s animal production and health division.

While many of these people may not have access to camels, there is an abundance of Camel-based products on the market, not the least of which is camel urine for human consumption.

Westerner introduced to camel urine

Drinking camel urine is quite common in Saudi Arabia. There are videos galore of Saudis doing it. As for why western health officials may be loathe to connect dots between the MERS virus making it to humans from camels, it very well could be political. As Shoebat.com has reported in the past, camel urine and products from the animal are held in extremely high regard. Telling Saudis to stop using camel products because MERS is being transmitted from camels is practically sacrilegious.

These products are hot in Jordan and we also have cases of MERS in Jordan.

Even CNN Arabic promoted under its “Health and Technology” column an article titled “A mouthful a day” and even in capsule form – just like you would with fish oil, massage it into your hair or apply it directly to your face. For best results, the CNN report recommends “to take mouthfuls of camel urine daily for an entire year” and to make sure the camel be a female virgin. Surveys are even done to conclude from patients that, the urine of a virgin camel has a “preferable distinct flavor and aroma.”

Westerners are not accustomed to how camel urine is an essential aphrodisiac to many Muslims as Ginseng is to Chinese.

There are even conferences on the “wonders and secrets of healing from camel urine,” that “camel urine is the miracle of our time and is a gift from Muhammad to mankind.”

Fatin Khorshid, of the King Fahd Medical Research Center sees it as the ultimate solution to “all sorts of ailments” like “cancer,” “digestive tract,” “diarrhea,” “sexual dysfunction,” “liver disease,” “skin ulcers,” “cosmetics,” etc.

In an effort to further promote its medicinal value in the fight against cancer worldwide, professor Khorshid has also applied for a swath of international patents. The US application, which covers “an absolutely novel use of camel urine,” focuses on PM701 (the “PM” stands for “Prophet Medicine”), obtained from the adult single-humped Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) found roaming natural pastures near Jeddah. ‘Separation and formulation of bioactive fraction and sub-fraction from camel urine work as anticancer agent.’ (US patent app. 2009/0297622 A1)

Amazingly, no one in the Muslim world is insulted by applying camel urine to the prophet of Islam. Many advise drinking it straight from the tap:

Even Al-Jazeera promotes a documentary for Camel urine:

And to become a blond, a thing that is desired in the Middle East, talk shows promote camel urine to be poured on the head, let it sit for 10 minutes and you will become blond:

In the above video, Dr. Umayma Al-Jouhari encourages that for best results for hair is to follow the tradition of the women in Taif, Saudi Arabia, who use camel urine as fresh as possible every time they bathe. “Freshness is key to get best results by placing your head under the camel” say al-Jouhari. And if MERS virus is in the urine which most Arabian camels are found infected, contracting the disease could be as easy as a husband breathing his wife’s hair during a romantic escapade.

Arabian camel urine is even exported globally in facial creams and hair products:

Advertisements are running wild throughout the Middle East. For shiny hair and a solution for baldness one ad boasts that they “will deliver anywhere in the Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates.” When spoken about Camel urine, the so-called experts even give thanks to Muhammad the Prophet of Islam for his provision and bountiful blessing: “Prayers and peace be upon our master Muhammad.”
The “bountiful blessing” is camel urine.

Speaking to the Saudi Gazette, Dr. Khorshid claimed that she was inspired by Prophet Muhammad’s medical advice and that camel urine consists of natural substances that work to eradicate malignant cells and maintain the number of healthy cells in a cancer patient. “This treatment is not an invention, but rather, taken from our Prophet’s legacy,” she remarked.

A Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari (2855) and Muslim (1671) claims that some people came to Madina and fell ill with bloated abdomens. The Prophet (pbuh) told them to combine the milk and urine of a camel and drink that, after which they supposedly recovered. Al-Bukhari and Muslim are the two highest authorities in Islam which makes the issue difficult for honest Muslim doctors to argue against for fear of persecution. Few in the Middle East are attempting to refute the claim for fear of being punished for blasphemy.

Despite all this evidence, doctors are having one heck of a time figuring out how people are contracting MERS. Reporters are pointing the finger at the Saudis, who seem to have no interest in pointing the finger at themselves:

Saudi Arabia is not doing enough to control the spread of the deadly MERS virus, which has infected 50 people in the oil-rich kingdom this month alone, say WHO experts. The virus remains largely shrouded in mystery.

“Critical gaps in knowledge remain, and several challenges … will require further work,” experts who are part of an investigative WHO committee said in a joint statement. “How and why infections occur in the community is yet to be understood, and this is critical for stopping the outbreak.”

Since 2012, more than 1,000 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been reported and almost 400 deaths. Infection has been confirmed in the US, France, the UK and other countries, usually after travel to Saudi Arabia, where the virus was first identified.

The only reason for the virus to be shrouded in mystery is political correctness.