Saudi Arabia reports new MERS coronavirus case in teen, 54th case globally

The Saudi Arabia Health Ministry has notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of an additional confirmed case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to a WHO update today.

Image/W123 at Wikimedia Commons

The patient is a 14-year-old girl with underlying medical conditions who became ill on 29 May 2013. She is reported from the Eastern region, but not from Al-Ahsa where an outbreak began in a health care facility since April 2013. The patient is in stable condition.

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 54 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 30 deaths.

A novel coronavirus called “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” (MERS-CoV) was identified in 2012 as the cause of respiratory illness in people. Investigations are being done to figure out the source of MERS-CoV and how it spreads.

WHO has received reports of laboratory-confirmed cases originating in the following countries in the Middle East to date: Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia and the United Kingdom also reported laboratory-confirmed cases; they were either transferred there for care of the disease or returned from the Middle East and subsequently became ill. In France, Italy, Tunisia and the United Kingdom, there has been limited local transmission among patients who had not been to the Middle East but had been in close contact with the laboratory-confirmed or probable cases.

The breakdown of cases/deaths by country is as follows:

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.

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