WHO: To Avoid MERS, Don’t Drink Camel Urine

Foreign Policy ^ | 6/28 | ELIAS GROLL

[nickcarraway]

Six people have died, 87 have been infected, and some 1,800 schools and kindergartens have temporarily shut their doors amid an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea. It’s likely the most significant outbreak of the disease outside the Middle East, and over the weekend, the World Health Organization released details on new cases of the disease in South Korea. It also issued a surprising piece of advice for individuals seeking to avoid infection: Drink neither raw camel milk nor camel urine.

That’s perhaps not as strange as it sounds. While the exact transmission mechanisms remain unclear, it is thought that the disease has its origins in bats and that camels may serve as a transmission point to humans. And in parts of the Middle East, drinking camel urine is not as uncommon as one might think. In parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the liquid is consumed for its allegedly palliative properties. The Prophet Mohammed is said to have informed his followers to drink camel urine to cure them of disease.

In 2013, an intrepid reporter for Vice sampled the substance while in Yemen. “The taste of warm piss is, as you would expect, disgusting,” he wrote. “But when it’s mixed with camel milk, as it traditionally is, it’s even worse. Getting rid of the musky aftertaste that takes over your mouth after the first sip is impossible.”

[nickcarraway]

World Health Organization

[nickcarraway]

Health update.

[a fool in paradise]

Isn’t that the slogan of Panther Whiz?

[P.O.E.]

Not at my barbeque.

[a fool in paradise]

[ansel12]

Where the heck was this advice last week, when I needed it!

[a fool in paradise]

Does that beer have a picture of the brewery on the label?

[a fool in paradise]

"It does have a little whang to it. Good, though."

#HollywoodKnights

[Oztrich Boy]

I’ll jot that down

[JennysCool]

No camel urine??? It's the weekend!

[GraceG]

Almost makes me want to bottle non-pasteurized camel urine in mecca and have it certified Halal....

[Boogieman]

"The Prophet Mohammed is said to have informed his followers to drink camel urine to cure them of disease."

[Pajamajan]

Well now here’s a sound piece of advice for the world.

[a fool in paradise]

"The Prophet Mohammed is said to have informed his followers to drink camel urine to cure them of disease."

Jim Jones had a special kool-aid too.

[DeFault User]

The Prophet Mohammed is said to have informed his followers to drink camel urine to cure them of disease.

Now we know where the phrase -Piss Be Upon Him- comes from. Just another nugget of wisdom passed by the prophet.

[shibumi]

So what am I supposed to do with the 6 gallons of pre-mixed camel urine Margaritas I made for the 4th?

[RedHeeler]

Mohamet was a prophet, who told morons to drink humpy pee. Well, I would have probably not considered him a prophet, after that medical insight. Yet, millions of morons do. Therein lies the problem.

[right way right]

I’ve really been trying to cut back. Honest.

[ansel12]

“The taste of warm piss is, as you would expect, disgusting,” he wrote. “But when it’s mixed with camel milk, as it traditionally is, it’s even worse.

OK.

[P.O.E.]

Bear Whizz Beer (Firesign theater)