WASHINGTON
— Saudi Arabia says a deadly virus is rippling through the kingdom as
additional cases were reported over the weekend in the United Arab
Emirates and Yemen.
Confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, have been seen at two major hospitals in the port city of Jeddah.
Saudi health authorities are embarking on a variety of measures to prevent further spread of the 18-month-long outbreak.
“We
have detected 11 cases of (the virus) in Jeddah,” said Dr. Abdul Salam
Noorwali, director-general of health in the Makkah region said last
week. “Two of the patients have died, while six others have been cured
and three cases are under medication,” he said.
Three of the
patients in Jeddah were health workers, including one of the two who
died, prompting authorities to temporarily shut down the emergency ward
at the city's King Fahd Hospital.
MERS, by demographic
Sami
BaDawood, Jeddah’s health affairs director, said the emergency
department was closed for disinfection after one health worker there
tested positive for the virus and subsequent tests on other staff
members showed further infections.
Some patients were transferred to other hospitals while the disinfection was carried out, he said.
The
latest figures bring to at least 179 the number of cases of MERS in
Saudi Arabia since the virus first appeared in the kingdom in September
2012.
.....
MERS Virus Hits Middle East Hard Once Again; Saudi Arabia Reports 15 New Cases And 2 Deaths
The Middle East is experiencing a surge in MERS infections, with two
deaths being reported out of Saudi Arabia and Yemen seeing its first. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus may have
ties
to the notorious SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) coronavirus
that spread to almost 25 countries within a half year, killing 770 of
the 8,000 people sickened by it, but it’s far more mysterious and
deadly. And while it has remained out of the spotlight lately, recent
reports from Saudi Arabia and Yemen confirm new deaths and cases.
Yemen reported its first case ever of the virus. The man, living in Sanaa, works as an aeronautics engineer, according to
Reuters. MERS has already
infected
212 people and killed 88 according to the World Health Organization.
The virus is deadlier than SARS because compared to the amount that
become sick, death rates are high. MERS has already killed about 42
percent of those who fell ill.
“The [Yemeni health] ministry is
working in effective cooperation with the World Health Organization to
confront this virus and is in direct and constant communication with all
hospitals to receive information on any other suspected cases,” Public
Health Minister Ahmed al-Ansi was quoted as saying by a Yemeni
newspaper, according to
Al Jazeera.
Read More Here
.....
Saudis Blame Government, Hospitals as Deadly Virus Spreads in Mideast
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has killed 60 percent of the people it has infected
A
rare respiratory virus that killed more than 100 people in the Middle
East in 2012 has resurfaced—and it’s sparking alarm and anger.
New
cases of MERS, a virus traced to an Egyptian tomb bat, have turned up
again in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and for the first
time in
Yemen,
too. The rage has been the loudest in Saudi Arabia, which has had the
majority of MERS cases. People are upset about what they say are poor
levels of
hygiene at Saudi hospitals, a
lack of public outreach about MERS and
mismanagement of the crisis by the Saudi Ministry of Health.
MERS,
or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, remains a mystery.
Researchers and doctors don’t know how it spreads or why it emerged in
the first place. Much like the SARS virus, which infected more than
8,000 people in Asia in 2003, when people get MERS they first show
symptoms of fever
and a mild cough, which may last for several days. That can lead to
pneumonia. However, unlike SARS, MERS can ultimately cause rapid kidney
failure.
MERS first appeared in September 2012, and while it has
infected only 189 people, it has had a
fatality rate of 60%.
By contrast, less than 10% of the people infected with SARS have died.
With a surge of new MERS cases, the hashtag #corona in Arabic was
tweeted over 110,000 times in a span of three days. Mapping the social
media discussion of the virus shows that the epicenter of the anger is
in Jeddah, the scene of one of the more virulent current outbreaks.
Jeddah,
one of Saudi Arabia’s largest cities, attracts millions of visitors
every year. During the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca,
Jeddah’s international
airport gets up to 2 million visitors from around the world in the span of a week. Last year,
1 million people were forced to forgo the annual Hajj because of concerns over the spread of MERS.
Read More Here
.....
This
undated electron microscope image made availalbe by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases - Rocky Mountain
Laboratories shows a novel coronavirus particle, also known as the MERS
virus, center. (AP / NIAID - RML)
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