MERS virus spreads in Saudi Arabia; 10 people dead

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
4/28/2014 (3 years ago)
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS has killed nearly a third of its sufferers from its onset. The situation is worsening in Saudi Arabia, where 26 news cases have been reported and 10 have succumbed to the disease. One man has recently died from MERS in Egypt, after he had returned to the country from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where he was working.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - MERS was discovered in Saudi Arabia around two years ago. Saudi is the nation that remains the most effected from the outbreak. Saudi Arabia has since had 339 confirmed cases of MERS, of which 102 have been fatal.

The 143 cases announced since the start of this month represent a 73 percent jump in total infections in Saudi Arabia for April.

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The Health Ministry Web site reported the new cases this past weekend.

The 10 confirmed on Saturday included seven in Jeddah, the focal point for the recent outbreak, two in the capital Riyadh and another in Mecca. Two of the MERS patients have since died.

The 16 further cases confirmed on Sunday included two in Riyadh, eight in Jeddah and another six in the northern city of Tabuk. Eight MERS sufferers died on Sunday.

Adel Fakieh, acting health minister said that he had designated three hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on the Gulf coast as specialist centers for MERS treatment.

The three hospitals can accommodate 146 patients in intensive care, he said.

Many Saudis have voiced concerns on social media about government handling of the outbreak. King Abdullah dismissed the health minister last week.

Saudi officials have called on the World Health Organization and a group of medical experts to meet at the end of this month to discuss the status of the virus.

Ministry of Health spokesman Khalid Marghalani said recently a drug company would be arriving in Saudi Arabia to discuss the production of a vaccine.

In Jeddah, some people are wearing facemasks and avoiding public gatherings, while pharmacies say sales of hand sanitizers and other hygiene products are soaring.

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