
Two women have died of the coronavirus MERS in Saudi Arabia, the health ministry said on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the kingdom to 44. The victims were identified as a 41-year-old expat who was working in the health sector in Riyadh and a 79-year-old Saudi who suffered from chronic illnesses and who came into contact with a patient stricken by the virus in the northeastern city of Hafr al-Baten. Saudi Arabia is the country worst hit by MERS, which has killed 50 people globally, according to a statement published by the World Health Organisation on August 30. Experts are struggling to understand MERS -- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome -- for which there is still no vaccine and which has an extremely high fatality rate of more than 51 percent. It is considered a cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died. Like SARS, MERS is thought to have jumped from animals to humans, and it shares the former's flu-like symptoms -- but differs by also causing kidney failure. According to research published this month in the American health journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, MERS was transmitted to humans from bats. But a study in the Lancet found the virus could have come from camels.
GMT 10:31 2018 Tuesday ,13 November
Russian police uproot 70 underground drug labs in past six monthsGMT 16:32 2018 Tuesday ,06 November
Rwanda aims to achieve universal access to clean water by 2024GMT 16:57 2018 Sunday ,04 November
Palestinian women witness higher cure rate of breast cancerGMT 13:11 2018 Tuesday ,30 October
Emergency surgery saves life of touristGMT 10:44 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
Scientists find microplastics in human stool for first timeGMT 09:18 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
US judge upholds Monsanto weedkiller cancer verdict, reduces payoutGMT 14:22 2018 Friday ,19 October
Birth spacing ‘improving health of Omani women’GMT 15:40 2018 Monday ,15 October
Pakistani president launches nationwide anti-measles driveMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor