MERS-CoV infects four more in Saudi Arabia
Lisa Schnirring
CIDRAP News
May 21, 2014
Continuing a pattern of fewer daily cases reported this week, Saudi Arabia’s health ministry today reported four new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases, along with one more death from the disease.
All four of the patients are men from locations that have reported many recent cases: one each from Jeddah and Mecca, along with two from Medina.
One of the patients, an asymptomatic 38-year-old man with kidney failure, visited a public hospital in Mecca for routine dialysis and tested positive for the virus while there, according to a statement from the Saudi health ministry (MOH). He had been in contact with a confirmed case-patient.
The other three men are in stable condition, and no exposures were listed. All three have underlying health conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. They include a 53-year-old from Jeddah and a 54-year-old and 66-year old from Medina.
For the three patients with symptoms, illness onsets ranged from May 5 to 10 and hospital admissions ranged from May 9 to 19.
The fatal case involves a 72-year-old woman who had been hospitalized in Riyadh and died yesterday. Her illness was first reported on Apr 19.
The new cases boost Saudi Arabia’s MERS total to 544, and the woman’s death lifts the country’s fatality count to 176.
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