Death toll from MERS in Saudi Arabia hits 173
Iran Press TV
Tue May 20, 2014 12:53AM GMT
The death toll from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has hit 173 in Saudi Arabia since its appearance in the country two years ago.
The Saudi Health Ministry announced on Monday that five people -- two woman and three men -- have been the latest victims of the incurable disease.
The ministry said that a 28-year-old woman and a 69-year-old woman have died in the port city of Jeddah and in the capital Riyadh respectively. It also reported the deaths of a 32-year-old man in northern Tabuk and a 55-year-old man in the city of Mecca. A fifth man, according to the ministry, 59, died on Sunday in the western city of Taif.
The ministry also said the total number of infections has reached 537 cases since the illness first appeared in the kingdom in 2012.
The recent fatalities came only days after the World Health Organization said the spread of the disease has become more serious, but does not yet constitute a global health emergency.
The World Health Organization also asked governments to make sure necessary measures were implemented in all healthcare facilities in order to prevent and control the infection.
MERS is a cousin of SARS. The virus first emerged in the Middle East and was discovered in September 2012 in a Qatari man who had traveled to Saudi Arabia.
The virus, which causes coughing, fever and pneumonia, does not appear to be as contagious as SARS, which killed some 800 people in a 2003 epidemic.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, which is worst hit by the virus, MERS has been reported in 16 other countries including some Persian Gulf states, France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia and Britain.
IA/AS/MAM
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