Deadly Virus Surges Through Arab Gulf
FILE – In this June 8, 2011 file photo, a Yemeni manas he leads his camel loaded with his belongings in Taiz, Yemen. Scientists say the mysterious MERS virus has been infecting camels in Saudi Arabia.
April 14, 2014
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 demographicSami 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
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.
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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.
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Foreigner dies of MERS in Saudi Arabia: ministry
April 14, 2014 05:10 PM
A view of the King Fahd hospital which has closed its emergency department banning the exit and entry of people and patients, on April 9, 2014 in Jeddah. AFP PHOTO/STR
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: A foreigner has died from MERS in the western Saudi city of Jeddah, where authorities have sought to calm fears over the spreading respiratory illness, the Health Ministry said Monday.
The death of the 70-year-old man brought the toll of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the most-affected country to 69 fatalities. Four new cases of infection were registered, bringing the kingdom’s total to 194, the ministry said.
It did not disclose the man’s nationality.
Last week panic over the spread of MERS among medical staff in Jeddah had caused a temporary closure of an emergency room at a main hospital, prompting a visit by Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabiah aimed at reassuring an anxious public.
Rabiah briefed the council of ministers on Monday following his visit to hospitals in Jeddah over the weekend.
“The situation concerning the coronavirus is reassuring,” the council said in a statement following its meeting.
The virus was initially concentrated in the eastern region but has now spread across other areas.
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