EAST Lancashire is ready to contain any outbreak of a deadly viral respiratory disease linked to camels.

This week two patients sparked the closure of an accident and emergency department amid fears they could have Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus Syndrome (Mers).

They have since tested negative for the disease but Public Health England (PHE), which covers Lancashire, was forced to shut Manchester Royal Infirmary’s A&E unit for around two hours over the potentially deadly Sars-like virus.

Beverley Aspin, Matron for Infection Prevention and Control at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, today said there was no need to panic. She said: “The Trust is as alert as we always are and we have contingency plans in place if a patient presents with suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

“Our plans follow national guidelines that have come from Public Health England. Relevant trust staff have been briefed to be extra vigilant and are aware of what they should do and are prepared to respond if necessary.”

PHE’s North West deputy director of health protection, Dr Rosemary McCann, said: “PHE can confirm that two individuals were tested in Manchester.

“These cases were separate and unrelated. The results of both tests were negative.”

Mers is a viral respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus (Mers-CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Last month the World Health Organisation said 1,333 cases had been confirmed throughout the world and approximately 36 per cent of infected patients had died.

Although the source of Mers-CoV is currently unknown, there is growing evidence of the possible role of camels in transmitting the virus to humans.

The last person to be diagnosed in the UK with the potentially deadly Sars-like virus was in February 2013. despite a recent rise in cases in the Middle East.