MERS Spreads to Italy, Kills 3 More in Saudi Arabia
Little is known about the SARS-like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, but more than half of the reported cases have been fatal.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continues to spread.
Health officials in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that three more people had died from the virus, ABC News reported. At least 38 cases have been reported in the country, and 24 of them have been fatal.
On Saturday, three new infections were confirmed in Italy.
MERS had already been reported in Europe, but a 45-year-old man who recently traveled to Jordan was Italy’s first resident sickened by the virus. A two-year-old girl and a 42-year-old woman, both of whom were in close contact with the man, also fell ill. All three were in stable condition as of Sunday, according to the World Health Organization.
Little is known about the rapidly-spreading viral respiratory illness, which first appeared in 2012. Before the recent Saudi cases, WHO was notified of at least 50 people instances of MERS, 30 of which were fatal.
In addition to the recent one in Italy, clusters have been confirmed in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.