The global number of infections with the deadly MERS virus has risen to 136, the World Health Organization said Friday. The statement followed reports by Saudi authorities that the virus had been detected in three men and three women in the capital Riyadh, AFP said. The virus, which appeared first in the kingdom last year, has killed 58 people worldwide, 49 of them in Saudi Arabia. Like SARS, MERS is believed to have jumped from animals to humans.