PandemicPreparedness

Updated: September 2025

• Mpox
• Bird Flu
• COVID-19
• MERS-CoV

Mpox

Mpox was first reported in Kuwait in August 2025.

Bird flu

• H5N1 was first detected in Wafra, Al Ahmadi governorate in November 2005. Outbreaks have been detected in wild birds and poultry since.
• H5N8 was first detected in December 2016.

Human cases of bird flu

No human cases of bird flu have been reported in Kuwait.

COVID-19

The first cases were identified in late February 2020.

Hotline: 151 or +965-2497-0967

Websites: Ministry of Health COVID-19 website, Twitter account and the Kuwait News Agency website.

MERS-CoV

MERS has been detected in people and animals. At least five camels in the Al Jahra and Al Ahmadi governorates tested positive for the virus during routine surveillance in early May 2014. A man who owned camels developed symptoms and died in September 2015.

In July 2016, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man was diagnosed with MERS whilst travelling in Thailand. The individual had no history of direct contact with camels or contact with suspected cases of MERS. However, he had travelled in the Middle East during the two weeks before his diagnosis. The patient recovered and left the country on 4 August.

In September 2018, a 61-year-old man was diagnosed with MERS-CoV in Seoul, South Korea, following travel to Kuwait.