Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that between April 10 and 17, three cases of the dangerous and rapidly spreading Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus have been found in the country. One of these infected people has also died.
In the bulletin issued by WHO, it has been told that all 3 cases were from the capital Riyadh and not a single one of them is a woman. The age of people suffering from MERS is between 56 to 60 years. Apart from this, all these victims were already ill. None of them were health care workers. This report has once again increased the concern about the corona virus spreading across the world.
WHO said in the bulletin that these three cases are linked to a health facility in Riyadh and their spread is being investigated. WHO said that a total of 5 MERS corona cases were reported in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year. Of these, 2 people have died.
MERS is a viral infection. About 36 percent of MERS victims have died. However, some claim the actual number is higher because mild cases of MERS-CoV may be missed by existing surveillance systems, as the death toll is based on hospital and laboratory data.
Let us tell you that there is no vaccine or treatment for this virus yet. However, several MERS-CoV-specific vaccines and treatments are being developed.
People are infected with MERS-CoV through direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels. Camels are the natural source of spread of this virus. MERS-CoV can also spread from person to person.