The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 3 additional cases of MERS-CoV
December 6th, 2015Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia
Between 2 and 27 November 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 3 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 2 deaths.
Details of the cases
- A 47-year-old, non-national male from Alkharj city developed symptoms on 4 November and, on 11 November, was admitted to hospital in Riyadh. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 12 November. Currently, he is in critical condition in ICU. The patient has a history of contact with a MERS-CoV case (see DON published on 29 October – case no. 1).
- A 70-year-old male from Riyadh city developed symptoms on 28 October and, on 30 October, was admitted to hospital. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 1 November. He passed away on 11 November. The patient owned dromedary camels and had a history of frequent contact with them and consuming their raw milk. He had no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms.
- A 50-year-old female from Afif city developed symptoms on 30 October and, on 31 October, was admitted to hospital. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 1 November. She passed away on 4 November. The patient had no history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms.
The National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also notified WHO of the death of 3 MERS-CoV cases that were reported in previous DONs on 13 November (case no. 4 and 5) and on 27 September (case no. 7).
Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,621 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 584 related deaths.