In one month, 25 Saudis were infected with MERS-CoV. About ten of them were infected in health establishments.
Saudi hospitals are facing outbreaks of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday. In its latest bulletin, the UN agency indicates that 25 people were infected and 6 died between April 21 and May 29. She specifies that 12 of these cases are linked to 3 separate outbreaks.
The first was identified at the hospital in Bisha, a town located in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. He is a 71-year-old man admitted to hospital in early May and died two weeks later. During his hospitalization, two caregivers were infected. One of them died.
The capital also affected
At the same time in an establishment in Riyadh, the capital of the country, a 55-year-old man infected 4 healthcare workers. Only the first patient died from MERS-CoV infection. In the same region, in Wadi Aldwaser, a 55-year-old man reported to the WHO at the end of April infected 3 people before going to hospital. Then once admitted, a caregiver contracted the infection.
The dromedaries implicated
Neighboring countries, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are not spared either. In May, 3 cases were notified in these countries. For two of them, the dromedaries are the cause of the infection.
Since September 2012, when the virus was first detected, 1,980 cases have been reported in the Middle East, including 699 deaths. The origins of this virus are still unclear, but it is now established that camels carry it and can transmit it to humans. Human-to-human transmission occurs mostly in health care facilities.
In humans, the virus causes fever and respiratory problems. The infection can also be asymptomatic. Patients already weakened by diseases are more prone to severe forms of infection. About a third of patients die.
.
