Saudi announces 56th MERS death

The Saudi health ministry announced Saturday a new MERS death, raising to 56 the number of people killed by the coronavirus in the country with the most fatalities.

The victim was a 73-year-old Saudi man, who suffered from , the ministry said on its website.

It also reported three new cases of the virus.

They are two foreigners working in health care who had been exposed to patients suffering from the virus and a 53-year-old Saudi man who is also chronically ill and in .

The ministry said 136 cases have been reported in the country since the virus appeared more than a year ago.

Experts are struggling to understand the disease, for which there is no vaccine.

It is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

© 2013 AFP

Citation: Saudi announces 56th MERS death (2013, December 21) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-12-saudi-56th-mers-death.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 shares

Feedback to editors